


Sweet Freedom

by Dentss



Series: Seeking Revenge [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Accidental Dragon Jesus, Dark, Dark Fantasy, Dark Past, Dissociation, Dragons, Eye Popping, F/F, F/M, Factions, Fantasy, Fighting Ring, Gods, Graphic Description, M/M, Magic, Mental Health Issues, Multi, Murder, No humans, Original Character(s), Suicide Attempt, Tags May Change, Trauma, Violence, War, dark themes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-30
Updated: 2019-06-03
Packaged: 2020-02-10 13:16:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 11
Words: 38,521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18661177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dentss/pseuds/Dentss
Summary: Blaze has been fighting in Zaro's arena since she was a baby, but when she gets the chance to escape her life quickly changes and she breaks free, joining an opposing faction called Blazing Light. When she is made leader thanks to an apparent prophecy, she ends up dedicating her life to taking down Zaro and saving others from what she'd been through, even if war is the only way to do it.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

  * For [my former teacher Mr. Fellows](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=my+former+teacher+Mr.+Fellows).



Four dragons sat around a crystal – a bright, glowing blue crystal which illuminated the cave in a gentle blanket of light. Each dragon was silent, until one leaped out as if startled.

“What’s wrong?” a skinny dull grey dragon asked almost instantly, his head snapping up from the crystal.

The other two were quiet and simply stared at the somewhat scared dragon.

The red one, who had leaped back, stared at the crystal and muttered something to himself very quietly. He looked out of the cave with a sigh, before turning to the group with glowing white eyes that had once been a gentle green.

“No, there’s a vision, it must be...” he gasped, trembling as several images flashed in his eyes, “Fire... it’s...”

“Are there any dragons there?” the largest of the four, a two-headed dragon with grey scales spoke up with the gruff voice of his left head.

The red dragon opened his mouth very slightly, then spoke, “Zaro... a-and a red... Fire...”

Before the two-headed dragon could speak, the dull grey one cried out, “It’s a prophecy! The gods have foreseen trouble in these lands!”

The red male suddenly fell deathly silent and slumped to the ground.

“The prophecy’s wisdom has taken its effect on him. Rest well, Blazing Light.” The right head of the dragon sighed, touching his claws gently to the top of the dying dragon’s head. It was already cold, as if he’d been dead for a long time.

The fiery male spoke, the green returning to his dulling eyes, as he died a slow and possibly painful death, “The dragon... of... of fire is coming. The dragon of fire is coming. The dragon of... fire...”


	2. Killing Machine

Blaze felt as if she was being suffocated. It hurt to have a givrilm band around her mouth and neck, tight so that she could be chained and so that her jaws were bound and she couldn’t breathe any fire. Her beautiful, flaming mane had once flowed with the breeze out in the open air: long and fiery and red hot. They’d cut it with the sharpest dragon’s claws they could find, and continued to whenever it grew too long for their tastes. They said it was too dangerous. They were right.

Only a small dragon, at a first glance she may not have appeared all that threatening. Her rippling muscles were a slight warning. Her red scales that at times looked a burned orange in the sunlight darkened under the ridges framing her eyes, accentuating her grass green glare. Scars littered her body, mostly small though a few strikes had left notable marks, leaving grey-pink imperfections on once flawless scales.

Blaze looked like a killer and that was exactly what she was.

She reminded herself of this every single day in this Hellhole.

Once again, Blaze had been summoned to the arena to fight. She’d made sure that her claws were sharpened and that she had eaten her fill. She assured she was hydrated and that the few strands of hair that had started growing again were brushed to one side, out of the way. _I’m not going to die today,_ she reminded herself, as she did before every battle.

The arena was a terrible place to fight. It was less of an arena and more of a sandy pit. It was spacious, which she could be quite thankful for. The walls were made of rock that jutted out in places, creating deadly spikes ready to impale the unlucky dragon who might be thrown into them. The sand was soft but easily blew up into the air, which could blind even the best of fighters. It appeared easy to escape, but if you tried to fly you would no doubt be caught by one of the watchers or Zaro himself, who would have the crowd decide whether you lived or died.

Escape was impossible. She knew from experience.

The plan had been simple: Blaze’s opponent would fly upwards and get caught, then she’d follow after.

She remembered the look on Crane’s face as he twisted to look at her, expression showing that he realised he’d been lied to. He tried to escape: he writhed in the grasp of the mighty night himself. Zaro smirked, looked Blaze in the eye and spoke with amusement.

“You killed this dragon.” He snickered before letting out a blast of black fire which burned through the victim’s face like acid, leaving nothing but the skull and clinging pieces of flesh. The neck was charred so badly that it didn’t even bleed. The headless corpse was then dropped into the arena. _Oh God, what have I done?_ Blaze was frozen in place, both sickened and shocked by what she had just witnessed. Someone else grabbed her and threw her into the arena again. She landed face-first beside the body. When she regained her upright posture, she stared at the body and it was all she could do to not throw up. _Zaro’s not a real dragon. He’s evil itself dressed like one. What else could do this?_

Never again had she attempted to escape. Instead, she fought for her life against criminals, innocents, warriors… anyone unfortunate enough to be put to the arena for battle. She had learned to be merciless. Old or young, big or small… she spared no-one. How else was one supposed to survive?

 

Today she came closer to losing her life than ever before.

 

Blaze lunged into the pit after having her chains removed and landed steadily, as she had done many times before, to be greeted by cheers of excitement and malice. They wanted to see someone dead at the end of this fight. She shivered a little in the Winter breeze, then prayed that it wouldn’t be her.  _I’m not going to die. I’m not going to die. I’m not going to-_

Thrown in forcefully by his guards was a six-legged dragon. She had never seen someone like this before and wondered if it was a deformity. They had a distracting blue marking in the shape of a ‘V’ on their chest. The two had little time to prepare themselves – though Blaze was already prepared – before Zaro let out the shout.

“May the best dragon survive!”

 

At this, Blaze waited for a second, not sure if this dragon was going to attack first.  _What’s he waiting for?_  He took a moment to watch her with those soulless red eyes, then let out a painfully high-pitched screech and lunged. Having six legs, he was able to throw himself quite far and with an amazing amount of power. Not ready for such a violent and swift attack, Blaze was taken by surprise when the dragon hit her in the side, sending both falling to the ground. She rolled and then jumped to her feet despite the pain in her side, growling at the male. He had also stood up quickly.

It was only when he lifted both of his front claws that she noticed the blood dripping from them. Terror struck her as she realised he must have hurt her, likely on the side where she’d been hit. Blaze jumped backwards, then to the side, where she turned and proceeded to rush at the dragon’s shoulders. She hit them, then clung on with her claws so that if the dragon fell she wouldn’t fall over too and instead land on top of them. The dragon didn’t fall, just stumbled, so instead she raked her claws downwards and leaped up to stand on their back. She weaved behind the wing which was in her way and then latched on tight with her jaws to the back of the dragon’s head.

Before she could bite harder, the world spun around her. It was only when she was being crushed beneath the unbearable weight of this six-legged male that she realised he had fallen backwards.

_Clever._ _Dangerously_ _clever._

She couldn’t breathe. She would either suffocate or be completely crushed beneath this dragon. She didn’t want to die. It was horrible. She was breathing in sand and then breathing it out again. There was hardly any oxygen for her to inhale. Her breath was raspy and harsh.  _Everything hurt._ _Gods, am I going to die?_

The audience sounded shocked. She could just about tell that there was no sound coming from them. Their champion fighter crushed beneath this six-legged beast.  _I’m not going to survive this. God, I should be grateful. Free from this world at last…_

She gave up breathing. There was nothing left to breathe anyway.

 

But then the heavy dragon rolled over. Light burst into view and she gasped, inhaling a cold breath of air, and then just laid there, breathing, until realising that this was a fight for survival and she was still surviving.  _I’m alive._

Blaze looked around. The fiery red male was standing again, looking straight at her. She lunged again, and he was ready; he slashed a long cut through her chest. It began to throb and ache instantly. She fell back, growling and baring her teeth. This dragon had less wounds than her. He was bigger, scarier, probably much older…

All signs pointed to him coming out of this alive, and her not.

He walked over to her, then stood over her and snarled. He opened his long jaws, exposing his sharp teeth and forked tongue and displaying the inside of his throat. Blaze saw her opportunity.

 

It was perfect.

She inhaled deeply, then exhaled harshly.

Except it wasn’t air that was breathed out. It was fire.

 

The six-legged dragon’s expression twisted with agony. The fire rocketed down his throat and through his entire body. He glowed from the inside, then his scales began to grow blacker and blacker and blacker until he was completely burned. Then, he began to disintegrate: the most sensitive parts of his body first. His stomach, from the bottom of his chest down until the base of his tail; his feet; his tail tip; his throat; and then finally his nose.

Blaze stopped. She clamped her jaws shut, horrified. He stopped burning. His ribs were showing, greyed and hot. The front of his skull was visible. The end of his tail was there too, and the bones that were once beneath his scales on his feet were at her sides.

She quickly got up, scrambling to move before the body dropped on top of her again.

Everything seemed to be fading slowly. She felt the pain of the wounds on her sides now, and her chest hurt like Hell. She turned around and looked at the body which had now collapsed. His intestines had survived being burned, likely thanks to the heat resistance most dragons’ insides had, and hung out of his stomach.

_What have I done?_

The audience suddenly broke out into cheers. She didn’t move, a headache adding to the current pain of the wounds.  _How could they cheer for this?_

 

“Well-fought! Take away the body, Pine. Blaze, you have earned some rest.” Zaro smiled, though it was a cruel smile rather than a kind one. She couldn’t drag her eyes away from the corpse until Pine flew down. She gave the female a sympathetic look, then picked up the body – carefully, so nothing else fell from his stomach – and moved away. Blaze’s expression became blank as she flapped her wings, flying out of the pit. She was in great amounts of pain, but soldiered on, knowing she’d be healed later.

“Blaze! I'll be escorting you today.” the voice of a rather excited Zaro spoke from behind her. Startled, Blaze froze up. He’d never done this before. Zaro never had escorted her. His mere presence made her uncomfortable.

 

The two were in silence for hardly any time whatsoever.

“I was thinking…” he started, head high as he walked, “And I thought that maybe you’d like to come and join Night Whisper instead of fighting in the arena. The regular audience wouldn’t be pleased but… you’d be a valuable fighter for us.”

She held her breath for a second.  _Wait, what? Am I asleep…?_  But she knew she couldn’t be. She’d killed a dragon and felt every bit of it and almost died. Did she want to join Night Whisper? What was worse: being under Zaro’s control or having to kill almost every day of her life? Blaze hesitated before answering, voice small and surprised, “I… I would… Yes, I think I’d like that, actually.”

“That is wonderful! In that case, I’ll be escorting you to the hold instead. C’mon, we’ve gone the wrong way.” He smirked in an incredibly unsettling way, causing the small, red dragon to tense as she walked.

“Hey, you know your hair as well? If it would make you feel any better, then we could stop cutting it.” He suggested, much to the young dragon’s delight. She opened her mouth to answer with a loud and excited voice but swiftly stopped herself, calming down a little.

“Yes, that would be very nice of you, sir! Only if that’s not asking too much… it’s kind enough of you to let me in the faction, I wouldn’t want to be greedy.” Blaze replied politely, looking up at the black-scaled dragon with a smile.

“Of course, but remember, I’ll only grant you requests like that for the first day or two, you hear me? You’re new so you’re allowed to ask favours at the start, but don’t think you’re any more special than the next dragon.” Hearing those words come from her superior’s mouth hurt a little.  _But don’t think you’re any more special than the next dragon,_  her thoughts echoed,  _I’m nothing special. I guess… Well, I never have been, have I?_

“O-okay, sir. Thank you.” She forced her smile to widen, not sure how to feel about what he had said.  _Does he mean that? Does everyone else think that too?_

They returned to the hold soon afterwards, Blaze earning confused glances which were then directed to Zaro. A vast majority of the dragons in the hold showed no interest; some looking for a mere second or some not looking at all. Blaze felt almost pressured, nervous under everyone’s gaze for no apparent reason.  _I kill whilst others watch me, why is it now that_ _I feel so scared? Maybe_ _the adrenaline rush blocks them out…_

Zaro suddenly opened his large wings and beat them against the air until he was stood upon a large rock jutting up from the centre of the hold. It stuck out like some sort of landmark in the home of Night Whisper, tall and proud and the main focus of attention when it needed to be. A spiral of other jagged rocks surrounded it, each smaller than the previous until they reached the ground. Zaro tapped his tail on the one that left the rock directly from the top and she took that as a signal to join him. She uncertainly glanced at the tip of the rock, then with her irregular and awkward wingbeats took her spot beside him, claws clinging to it as if she were about to fall. If she’d been an adult she surely would have.

“Brothers and sisters of the night, gather to witness the welcoming of a sister into our faction!” he roared, claiming the attention of all his inferiors with ease.

Everyone gathered soon enough, all expectantly staring up at the two. Blaze nervously curled her tail around the rock, wings tucked in close. However, she kept her head high and tried her best to ignore her bleeding and pain.

“Due to her knowledge and skill in battle, Blaze has no need to be made a learner, despite not being part of faction tradition or life up until now. I approve of her instant promotion to a proper rank. She will be a fighter of Night Whisper and a valuable one. You are to treat her with respect and as a sister, as you would any other dragon. She has killed and will do so again so do not underestimate her skill.” Zaro explained with a hard stare at the crowd. If his words were not clear enough in putting the idea in these dragons, then his eyes were enough to finish the job. Sometimes his glare made her wonder if any claws were sharp enough to match it.

“Does anyone have anything to say?” he asked coldly. The dragons probably had words to speak, but their Prince scared every sound from their lungs. Blaze urged them out with a gentle smile, wanting to hear what everyone thought. Of course, not everyone would speak but she still wanted to know.  _Come on._ _Just_ _one would be enough._

_But don’t think you’re any more special than the next dragon…_

_Just_ _one._

“Apologies, Zaro, but why should this dragon be treated differently to any other youngster? I know plenty who have decent skill and deserve to be promoted, what makes her so special?” Someone spoke up. For a second she thanked them silently for showing something other than acceptance towards Zaro.

_What makes her so special?_

“You have not attended the arena battles, I expect. She is my champion fighter. Today her opponent opened their mouth and she burned them through the inside until their stomach ripped enough to let their organs fall out. Last week she slit three throats in the matter of ten seconds, each were dragons much older than herself. Before that she suffocated one of the strongest prisoners I had kept.” Zaro argued. “Whilst she might not be special, she is gifted in the work with claws and teeth, and fire if she needs to use it.”

_Whilst she might not be special._

_Burned them through the inside until their stomach ripped enough to let their organs fall out_ _. Slit three throats in the matter of ten seconds. Suffocated one of the strongest prisoners I had kept._

Blaze felt herself internally panicking.  _No. I can’t live like this. I’m not a killing machine. I’m not Zaro’s monster. I’m not a skilled fighter. I’m not good. I hardly know how to fight. What are you doing to me?_

_I’m_ _not_ _a killing machine._

There must have been another exchange of words because Zaro furiously dismissed everyone, including Blaze. He ordered a border patrol to be arranged and told Blaze she was to be part of it, then called the dragon who had objected to speak. She assumed they’d be talking about her. Trying to calm her breathing, she paused for a second, then started out on the path to the healers’ den with small tears in her eyes.

 

It had taken half a day to reach the border and even then they’d waited until nightfall to start patrolling it. She had no clue which faction this bordered or what other factions there were, but the thought of other factions that weren’t on their side, dragons who were as terrifying as Zaro who would snap her neck in a mere second without remorse, scared her. She peered across the border, out across the beach and the water of the ocean splitting Night Whisper from whoever's territory lay beyond.

At the border, the patrol split up into pairs. Blaze got stuck with some dragon she didn’t know or trust. He was young as her, and had horns that curled in towards his nose from where they grew on the back of his head. There were many spikes all over his body - especially his tail, which was covered in spines - and he had a lean figure. His scales were a dull kind of green-blue with a few speckles of lighter greens and yellows and slight greys and peaches. His eyes were different but kind of pretty due to that fact; the left eye was yellow whilst the right was a dark blue. They seemed to glimmer, even though there was hardly any light for them to reflect. He was rather charming in appearance, though she couldn’t say the same for his personality. He seemed a little clingy to her, though not a coward.  _Perhaps_ _he’s just… socially_ _awkward or something?_  she guessed, but decided not to bug him and comment on it, just going with it and trying to be polite.

The two got put on guard duty. They had to watch the makeshift camp and make sure that nothing washed up and that nobody tried to cross the border. If someone did cross it she had been told to question them and if her companion deemed their excuse unreasonable, unbelievable or not good enough then she had permission to give them a quick death and throw the body in the ocean.

After a good hour of awkward and unsettling silence after a quick conversation the two had managed to get in, the male started speaking again, “So uh… I’ve been thinking, lots of time to think y’know, hour and all… maybe longer… feels like an hour. And maybe we should kind of… tell each other our names? We’ll probably be working together a lot if this goes well, so it’s worth knowing your name and you knowing mine. If that makes sense.”

It took Blaze a moment to process what he’d said, but soon nodded, “Sure. Doesn’t sound too bad I suppose. I’m Blaze. Surprised you haven’t heard about me – you know, being Zaro’s champion fighter and all…”

“Wait, you’re Blaze? Apologies… I should have known.” The dragon sounded shocked. “Um… it’s an honour to meet you. Sorry if I seemed rude. My name’s Suleykaar. I’m at your service.”

“It’s okay. You’re not rude. It’s nice to meet you, Suleykaar.” Blaze smiled politely.

“…Thanks. Hey, hold on. Blaze, can you see that?” he pointed out over the border. She followed where he was pointing and squinted hard when she saw a black shape coming closer and closer and closer. She panicked for a second, something she hadn’t done in the face of danger in a very long time. _I’ve fought in an arena for more than 70 years, why am I suddenly_ _scared of a black thing running at me? It could be a deer or… or a fox or… something else. Doesn’t have to be a dragon. Doesn’t have to be a deadly enemy._

“Stop right there!” Suleykaar suddenly let out a deep, rumbling growl as the shape came close enough to have their features observable. It was a dragon. They were mostly dark grey-scaled and had a few light grey scars littered over their body. Blaze’s mind was flooded with memories of the arena: scarred dragons, bruised and battered and weary, young and old, all sent to fight to the death – some with her, others not. And every opponent she had faced she had managed to ruthlessly murder, be it a dragon with plenty experience or none. She didn’t want to have to kill another dragon.

“Urgent message for Zaro.” The dragon landed, scraping off a small amount of dirt from their claws. “Would you be so kind as to…” they paused, staring at Blaze with slight suspicion, “guide me to the hold or something?”

Blaze tensed under the dragon’s gaze, uncomfortable. Suleykaar gave the dragon a hard, long gaze, catching onto the fact that she was quite unnerved.

“No, we’ll have to get the others to take you.” He spoke with a tone that didn’t shake and she assumed he was used to dealing with border issues like that. “Blaze, I’m sure you could kill this dragon if you had to – I’ll be back in a sec.”

_What makes her so special?_

_I’m not a killing machine. I’m not._

_Whilst she might not be special._

_Not special._

_Not a killing machine._

She inhaled a ragged breath and stared at the dragon, shaking very slightly.  _I’m not going to kill this dragon. I’m not a killing machine. They can’t do this to me. They can’t do it._

Suleykaar left, leaving her with her thoughts whilst the two sat in a hostile kind of silence.

“You’re that arena monster, aren’t you?”

Blaze shuddered. They know. “Y-yes. I… They made me do it.”

“News spreads like wildfire, kid. We heard from an arena spy that you were joining Night Whisper officially.” The dragon smiled, suddenly lifting the violent air to everything and replacing it with a calmer one.

“I… yeah. I hate it… so much… I-” she stopped herself, breath catching in her throat.  _Oh no. What if they told Zaro?_  “D-don’t tell,  _please._  Don’t do it. I’m not- I’m not a killing machine! I’m special! I’m not nothing – I’m-I’m not!”

Blaze completely broke down. She couldn’t hold back the terrible sobs that came from her. She must have sounded awful.  _What am I doing? I must look so weak. I’m so weak._

“It’s okay… I’m going to tell you the truth nice and quick, okay? I came to take you from this faction. Storm sent me; she knows the treatment that arena dragons get.” The dragon’s tone was soothing now and she loved the way it sounded.

Her heart beat against her ribs violently. Was this her chance to be free? “Wait… you’ve come to-”

“If you’re coming then we need to hurry. They’ll be here in a few seconds. When they see you’re not here they’ll try chase us over the border. If we’re going to leave we should do it now.” They glanced in the direction in which Suleykaar had ran. Blaze followed their gaze. There, running forward fast, was Suleykaar. He skidded to a sudden halt in front of them.

“Suleykaar, come with us.” The red-scaled female said quickly, and the male paused.

“Where?” he questioned.

“To Blazing Light, they’ve come to save us!” The dragon said hurriedly, turning around and preparing to sprint.

“What? But I…” he trailed off, then took a deep breath and nodded gently. Blaze realised it probably wasn’t an easy thing to do for someone who had probably grown up in Night Whisper and that alone.

Without speaking another word, the two young dragons flew after the dark grey one, and Blaze didn’t look back. Her eyes were fixed upon what was ahead. 

 _We’re saved. Nothing could be worse than this. There is nothing more horrible than Night Whisper or Zaro. Nothing._ And for a second it seemed that she might finally be free.


	3. Change

_Nothing could be worse than Night Whisper._

This thought had haunted her sleep, plaguing her dreams with nightmares of war and of Zaro coming to torture her for her treachery, but when she awoke with the memory of escaping with the foreign dragon into the unfamiliar lands beyond Night Whisper she realised that she had never coped well with new surroundings. The journey had been a long one; when they landed they'd travelled through many dark passageways beneath archways of trees until they reached a huge clearing where the dens were tree hollows and the dragons beamed, seemingly blissful.

She had awoken to the voice of some male dragon she didn’t know. Well, of course she didn’t know them.  _Don’t think too much, Blaze._ She tried to stop herself from sinking into a deep state of thought, lifting her head instead and letting her eyes focus to try and spot whoever had been speaking. Evidently, she had been the subject of his words. There were two dragons sitting just outside, almost blocking the entrance. The female lifted her body so that she was sitting, and then sat there awkwardly, listening to them.

“Do you think we can trust her? She’s one of Zaro’s pit wolves. You can’t trust savages like that.” One voice said.  _What are wolves?_ she questioned herself for a second, wondering if she’d ever heard of wolves before. She couldn’t seem to recall what they were. The fire dragon stood, quietly beginning to walk towards the entrance.

“Trusting someone is like throwing yourself off a cliff and not flying.” The other laughed.  _I don’t get it. What’s so funny?_

Evidently, the first voice didn’t seem to get it either. “Uh… And what’s that supposed to prove?”

“You end up dead, you break your legs or someone catches you at the bottom.” They replied, and suddenly everything became grimly silent. Blaze decided to announce her presence by speaking.

“…You can trust me. It was this faction that saved me from Zaro… I-I couldn’t, I… I wouldn’t hurt anyone who helped me. I only want to hurt those who want to kill me.” She didn’t expect to say that much or stutter that much but clearly that was what happened. She made her way out of the den, where she stood under the hard gaze of two adult dragons. She staggered forwards, then turned around with wide eyes and her body pressed to the ground. The larger one to the left was a light shade of blue-grey, the one on the right was a dark red like the blood she’d seen so many times. His undersides were orange, and his eyes were a brilliant green. He was, whilst likely older than her, undeniably handsome and looked quite healthy and well, especially in comparison to the other. The only thing that betrayed that perfect health was a small scar in the middle of his chest.

“Apparently, eavesdroppers are trustworthy.” The blue-grey one hissed.

“Shut up. Your loud voice probably woke her up, she’d have heard something either way.” The red dragon retorted, and the other sighed.

“Link, you of all dragons should know not to trust-” the other male started, but was cut off as the red one – apparently Link – stood up and growled.

“Don’t bring any of that up, else I’ll burn you alive no matter the consequences.” He snarled. “Get away from me. I’ll talk to Blaze now.”

Not sure how to react to the dragon’s outburst, she cowered closer to the ground, chest touching it directly as she stared awkwardly at the leaving male.

Link spoke up quietly, “I’m sorry for everything you just saw. You… you can get up, nobody will hurt you. Your name – you’re called Blaze, right?”

Blaze nodded, standing and then moving slowly to sit opposite the handsome dragon. The ground was warm where the other dragon had been sitting, but it was very comfortable so she stayed there and enjoyed it. Being a fire dragon, she found warmth incredibly pleasant, especially during Winter.

“Well… I’m Link. Just so you understand why everyone treats me like I’m very important, I’m Blazing Light’s… uh, apparently Blazing Light’s ‘lead fighter’. But please don’t follow them. I’m just another fighter.” He introduced himself, and Blaze smiled a little.

“Okay. We can be friends then! I came from Zaro’s fighting pit with my two brothers. They took us when we were only little and cut off all my hair cus it was dangerous. And I… Zaro made me kill lots of dragons. He made me kill one a couple of days ago, a-a dragon with six legs-” she was cut off by Link, whose eyes suddenly became wide.

“Describe them.” He told her. Feeling almost threatened, she hesitated before answering him.

“…He was kind of like… very red, like fire.” Blaze paused for a second, recalling his appearance best she could. “And his eyes were a really deep, dark kind of red.”

“Did he have a blue tattoo?” Link asked. She searched her memory, and recalled the moment the red dragon had been thrown into the arena with her.  _Wait, wasn’t there that ‘V’ on his chest? Was it blue?_

“I-I think. Yeah, there was a blue V on his chest I think. Does it mean something?” she inquired. The fighter’s sudden interest was kind of suspicious to her. Was this dragon important to him?

“It’s the first letter of his name. He was called Venom, and he was the lieutenant of Blazing Light.” The older dragon explained. A sinking feeling suddenly took Blaze by force.  _Look what I’ve done. What if I’ve ruined this faction? What if he was going to be an amazing leader? What if he had a family or kids? What’ve I done to them?_

“O-oh my, I’m, I’m so- I’m so sorry for what I did, I-I didn’t know and-” she spluttered, not knowing what to say. Their lieutenant was dead and it was all her fault. It was all because of  _her._

“It wasn’t your fault… Zaro forced you to fight for your survival. We have a rule: where you must, put the young before the old. You are the young.” Link stated, and whilst the guilt stayed heavy upon her chest it gave her something else to rest her mind upon rather than the bad thoughts.

“What about the others?” she quickly changed the subject, reluctant to speak more about it.

“Ah. The other fighters. We…” Link hesitated, then looked away from Blaze. “I’ll discuss it with Storm. I can’t promise that we’ll get them back but I’ll try. Can you tell me how many other dragons there were in there?”

The female sat and thought for a few minutes. “I’m not sure, I don’t remember there being that many…”

“So a rescue mission would be quite easy. Okay, thank you so much for this information Blaze. I’ll speak to Storm before she announces that you and Suleykaar are officially joining the order. I’ll try convince her to organise a rescue mission.” Link stated.

“You will?” Blaze gasped. “Oh my gosh – thank you so much! If there’s any way I can repay you at all please let me know, I’ll do anything for you!”

“No need. Blazing Light dragons look after each other.” Link smiled, then stood. “Rynn be with you.”

He didn’t let Blaze respond and left. She watched him go. The lead fighter walked towards the tree in the middle of the heart. There was a large hole in it, which he called into before slipping inside. The tree was very large but no home for a dragon, so she imagined that there was a cave or hollow that he’d drop into.

She was unsure of what to do now. Their conversation had been surprisingly short, and it was early morning. In Winter, she had found that mornings were significantly warmer than the rest of the day for some reason, so she could just lay down and enjoy the morning hours before things dropped cold, or maybe go practise her fighting skills, or perhaps find some dragons to go check the border with. No, that was a bad idea. Night Whisper bordered this faction. If one of their members saw her then she would probably be killed. It was almost definite that Zaro would have put a bounty on her head. In fact, she wouldn’t be surprised if he’d sent one of his assassins after her. Perhaps he wanted to kill her himself, though. If that was so then going to the border would still be incredibly dangerous, he’d likely have ordered his dragons to keep an eye out for her and bring her back to him.

“Blaze? What’re you doing up so early?” a kind of familiar voice came from the den behind her, and she turned her head to see Suleykaar. He looked sleepy still, but was likely only waking up.

“I’m usually up early for training. How else would I have won every match I’ve fought?” she responded. “Oh, and some dragons were talking about me, and then Link spoke to me.”

“What’d Link say?” the green male enquired, approaching her and sitting down at her side.

Blaze turned to face away from him, back at the tree in the middle of the large clearing that was the Heart. She wondered how long Link would be in there. She kind of wanted to speak to him again and maybe ask if they could train together. He was the lead fighter after all, he must be a very worthy opponent in battle. She needed to learn how the order fought, and maybe teach them about the tactics that tended to be used in Night Whisper. Then again, that faction was more of a ‘do whatever you like as long as they die’ one.

Then, she turned back to the dragon accompanying her, smiling gently. “He just asked me a few questions I suppose. About the arena.”

“Huh… It must have been awful. You know, to be stuck as a prisoner, just killing and killing and killing…” he sighed, eyes finding hers. She stared back for a while. Eye contact came easy to her, it hardly meant anything anymore.

“You got that right. As awful as it is, you get used to it after a while.” She nodded, regarding him with her eyes soft.

They smiled at each other for a moment. Then, she gazed off towards the tree. She caught sight of Link pulling himself out of the tree hollow. Once he was up, he turned and watched as a stormy-coloured dragon followed, her scales dark brown with an ice-blue line separating their taupe underbelly. They stretched their wings and she was taken aback: the webbing showed perfect imitations of a sky in the middle of a thunderstorm, right as lightning struck.

Their amber eyes met Blaze’s and she shuddered away from the strikingly disapproving gaze. They had two brown unicorn-like horns sprouting from their forehead, the second one splitting into two, and six spikes sprouting from their temples and cheeks. The light hit the horns and made them shine gold. Suleykaar opened his large wing and draped it over her shoulders comfortingly, sensing how nervous she got.

“She doesn’t look too friendly.” He commented, and they both watched as the two dragons neared.

 

Link was first to speak. “This is Storm, general of Blazing Light. She is the one you have to thank for your rescue.”

“You don’t need to thank me. You’re Zaro’s champion pit wolf, aren’t you?” Storm asked, and once again Blaze was confused by what she meant.

“…Apologies miss, but what is a wolf?” she questioned. The dragon gave her an almost disappointed look, then sighed, the three icy stripes on her upper lip crinkling and her bright lower jaw tensing.

“Never mind. You fought in an arena as a killing machine for Zaro, and then you joined Night Whisper. How can we trust you?” the general enquired, tone bitter – perhaps even hateful.

“I only fought for Zaro because if I didn’t he’d kill me, miss.” Blaze responded, and then looked at her claws. “I-I suppose… other than that, I can’t think of a reason why you could trust me. I’m sorry. Please don’t kill me, miss.”

“…Gods, they really have mistreated her.” Link frowned. “What do you think, Storm?”

The dark-scaled female thought for a second, then sighed. “We sent one dragon to bring those dragons back and nobody killed them. It could be a trick to get our information, though… well, we’ll keep an eye on them. For now, I’ll let them in.”

Suddenly, Link’s eyes widened. “Wait, I have an idea. We can send them on the rescue mission!”

_Wait, what? We never agreed to this! You just rescued us from that Hellhole, now you’re sending us back? What about Zaro?_

“…That’s perfect. Then they will have to prove their loyalty to one side or the other. Brilliant idea. Alright. Link, go get another dragon. You four leave now for Night Whisper. Rescue the remaining pit wolves under the cover of night and bring them back here as soon as possible. Good luck.”

 

* * *

 

 

By the time they arrived, it was nearing nightfall. She was glad that they wouldn’t have to wait for very long to move in and attempt a rescue.

Suleykaar and Blaze huddled close over a fire. To prevent the smoke from giving away their location, Link had collected some special plants, smokebreathers if she recalled correctly, that would absorb the smoke instead of letting it rise.

When the night was at its darkest, the group of them began to move closer. It was difficult due to the bright colouring of all four of the dragons and the luminous eyes that all dragons had, but so long as they kept to the more sheltered parts of the outside of the hold, she reckoned they’d be fine. Zaro had very good security, she knew that for a fact, so it would be quite difficult for them to get to some places. It was likely that they would end up killing dragons.

Blaze was at the head of the rescuers. She stalked ahead, eyes high as she watched the watchtowers closely. It was hard to see the dragons up there because of the generally dark scales (Zaro selected darker dragons to keep watch at night since they were well-hidden to anyone who thought they could sneak past or just waltz through because they saw no guards) that they had. Torches were placed on all sides of the watchtower, lighting up everything around it. Blaze stopped.

“Guys, how do we get past?” she enquired.

“They’re using torches that burn for weeks… We can’t put them out so…” Suleykaar pointed out. There was a moment of complete silence between them before Link glanced back towards a wooden watchtower. Blaze remembered that Zaro was barking commands to start reinforcing it with stone. Looked like that hadn’t been done yet.

“I’ll burn it.” He volunteered, though the others had no say in it. He was creeping off already. Blaze watched, slightly nervous and unsure about this plan. Before she knew it, flames were licking the air and tearing apart the watchtower. She waited for attention to turn to the burning wood and then sprinted for the caves she had become familiar with since she was taken. The rest followed, and for once she felt important.  _Not a pit wolf. Not just a killing machine. No more of that._  The guards of the cave remained, and she assumed that no matter what they were probably given the job to keep the fighters in.

“We can’t distract them, we need to take them out.” Blaze whispered, stopping at a distance from the guards. She was well prepared to take one of them out. Suleykaar approached her side and she nodded towards the guards. He also nodded and the two approached under the cover of the shadows, though there weren’t many that were dark enough to hide the colourful dragons. They had to be quick.

Climbing onto the cave caused some unnecessary noise, which caused the guards to shoot up from their posts and face them head-on. Blaze wasn’t scared and neither was her friend.

Whilst Suleykaar lunged first, she waited for the opponent to make the first move. They threw themselves at her, and she ducked, her smaller body causing the other to jump straight over her. Then, she saw that Suleykaar was backed onto the edge of the cave. Orange light adorned his features, which were twisted into a vile snarl. Blaze swiftly jumped at her friend’s attacker, and the momentum sent them both hurtling down from the cave and onto the ground. The Night Whisper dragon landed first, and then her body hit the ground and dirt flew up into her eyes and face. She stood, coughing hard and blinking furiously. The other dragon was much better prepared and before she knew it, a hard force was applied to her chest and she was stuck upon the ground, throat and stomach vulnerable. She didn’t have a chance to relive memories at all, though the only ones she remembered would likely be of the fighting pit. Claws swung down and she closed her eyes.

Dark, a scream – was that her own? Maybe it was, she didn’t know. Everything fell silent.

 

“Blaze!”

She opened her eyes and saw Suleykaar leaning over her, blood in his jaws and his eyes filled with concern. She lunged to her feet, eyes still stinging a little from the dirt and mouth filled with the taste of it. She coughed some more, throat dry.

“Meet me after this.” She told him, and he nodded. The two slipped into the cave.

“Don’t hurt us! There’s a fire out there, we can see it. Please don’t burn us, please!” a voice quickly called out to them, but then a loud gasp broke through the panicked whispers.

“It’s Blaze! Sear, she escaped – I think she’s come to save us! Everyone, we’re gonna be okay!” she recognised one of her brothers speak, and her heart lit up at his voice. They were alive.

“Shush! Come on Suleykaar, we better hurry up.” Blaze told her companion, who nodded. He lit up a few scales across his neck, which she had no clue he could do, but she decided she’d question him later and used the light from him, the luminous eyes of the fighters and the fire to locate the chains and melt them with close contact with her fire breath. Suleykaar broke them with brute strength. The freed dragons remained still, eagerly waiting the command of someone. She gave her companion an urging glance, and he sighed before beginning to instruct the dragons.

“We need to get out quick. The rescue party is outside and everyone else should be distracted by the fire. We need to get out as soon as possible. Come on. I’ll take up the front, Blaze can take the back.” The male instructed, and they all sprinted out of the den. Blaze waited until everyone was out to follow, and they soon met with the rest of the party, and they ran as fast as they could out of the hold. A few shouts of “FOLLOW THEM” or “GET ZARO” came from behind them, but all of them escaped. Blaze couldn’t help but smile at the thought she’d helped these dragons, and that for once she had someone else on her side to help. In fact, she realised that for once she hadn’t done everything, it was Suleykaar. She remembered the orange light illuminating the details upon his face as the dancing flames reflected in his yellow eyes, the rage in his expression speaking louder than any words could.

 

* * *

 

 

They were back across the border and into Blazing Light territory when they finally stopped. Blaze’s wings and legs ached horribly and she leaned her body upon the sycamore that sat near to the campfire that had been created. Once again, Link piled some Hulpovigsuvi next to the rocks and let it breathe in the smoke that came from the flames.

Blaze saw a dull blue two-legged dragon (which, if her memory served her correctly, were called Wyverns and were very rare) approach her. He was new to her, so she assumed he was a newer victim of Zaro’s pit fighting. He was slightly larger than her. He walked easily upon his two legs, using his wings as forefeet, and his black eyes focused upon her. She noticed his narrow face and how it resembled Zaro’s. He had fur and feathers running all the way from the top of his head down to his back and it gathered upon his chest like a lion’s mane. It looked very soft and well-groomed.

“Oh, I bet I look weird… haha, I’m sorry – I know I’m gross… Lurquah sent me away because of my disease, they didn’t want anyone else to inherit it because usually Gods are the only ones and-”

“No, you don’t look gross at all. Your face might remind me of my captor, but I mean…” she laughed, and he chuckled too. He stopped in front of her and laid down, casually stretching out his legs and settling his wings. He looked quite comfortable, though Blaze could never imagine being comfortable with no front legs.

“I’m… surprised. You’re such a…” he paused, nervously pausing and tripping over his words. “…Well, compared to me you’re a really like… pretty dragon. Most of the pretty ones think I’m disgusting.”

Blaze felt her entire face heating from the compliment, but she quickly answered nervously too. “N-no, no you’re not disgusting, trust me. There’s lots of dragons with narrow faces, not just Zaro. And I think narrow faces are n-” she cut herself off, looking away. Wow. This was very awkward. “nice. And black eyes are pretty… I mean, not on the Devil I don’t think b-but… yeah. And fur is nice and blue-grey is very nice too. And having horns on your cheeks and head is fine. And Wyverns are cool, so yeah… if anyone ever is mean to you don’t believe them please.”

“I-I… you… that’s the nicest thing anyone…” he trailed off, smiling and shaking it off. “A-anyway, then. I came to thank you for rescuing us.”

“Oh, that’s no problem… I didn’t really do much anyway. You can mostly thank Suleykaar and Link, though. Suleykaar saved my life and Link caused the distraction.” She answered modestly, since she really didn’t have anything to take much credit for. If she did, she certainly would accept the praise.

“Yeah, but if you hadn’t escaped then the rescue mission might not have happened. I might be dead, you might be dead… you saved us, really. The others did a lot but you’re the real cause.” He objected. When he wasn’t tripping over every sound he made, it was very clear that he had a noticeably different accent to Murquahn dragons. It sounded rather graceful and soft, and was quite pleasing to the ear.

Blaze blinked.  _Well, I guess…_  she let the corners of her mouth lift, her fangs slightly poking from her jaws. “I’ve never thought about it that way… I don’t mean to be full of myself, but… no problem, I guess. Fighting for that psychopath is awful, I wouldn’t want anyone to suffer like that.”

“That’s very kind of you… Night Whisper’s full of awful dragons. Ehem, anyway, my name’s Cronos. I’m from Lurquah, which is a sister island to Murquah, and therefore Zaro saw me as a… an exotic warrior to fight for him in the pits.” The blue-grey male explained. Blaze frowned slightly. It was certainly unfortunate that his first view of Murquah was from a fighting arena with possibly the most terrible dragon around, and she felt sorry for him. She could only imagine what it would be like to leave one horrible society just to enter another.

Thankfully, Blazing Light seemed like no horrible society.

“I’m Blaze,” she introduced, though he no doubt knew exactly who she was, “and former champion pit fighter for Zaro. He took me when I was only little. I don’t remember my parents since they died early on in the arena. Sear, Scorch and I looked after each other really, and the older pit fighters took care of us too. We tried not to get attached but… that can be hard.”

“I’m sorry that he took you from your family, Blaze.” He sighed, and she shook her head.

“And I’m sorry that you had to grow up like this… most dragons would give up and end up like Zaro.” She couldn’t imagine having more than one Zaro. The world would have probably been destroyed by now.

“Yeah, when one corrupts you often find that others easily corrupt too. Anyway, enough depressing stuff. You’re interesting, Blaze. I want to know more about you. I’ll start simple: I’m fifteen. You?” Cronos enquired. The fire dragon had answered this question to Suleykaar, and she quickly thought back to that conversation, though she didn’t need to.

“Fifteen and a half.” She replied, and thought up a question of her own. “I’m a believer in traditional Murquahn. Do you follow any deities?”

“This is gonna sound weird but I follow two religions technically. It’s the belief in the Murquahn and Lurquahn gods, like… you won’t know him, but Arasil is the main God back home. Here, it’s Rynn and No Star. I believe in all of them.” He explained, and she was confused by the concept of being able to follow both foreign and local gods at once, but she didn’t comment on it since she supposed it was a possibility.

“No, it doesn’t sound weird, trust me.” She promised, but still it sounded odd to her considering the fact that she believed in only the traditional Murquahn gods. However, not being one of those dragons who had zero tolerance for other beliefs, she didn’t say anything about her personal opinion on things in case she offended him.

“I’m glad… Umm, do you believe in No Star’s youngest son too? He’s got a separate religion altogether, apparently. Ravynne, I think it is.” Cronos asked, and Blaze shook her head.

“I’ve never heard of him.” She replied. The male nodded gently, then shrugged.

“I heard some dragons talking about the Fading Star faction mostly following him. He sounds like a good God to me.” He then moved on to another subject casually, and the two spoke until the group settled down to sleep. Blaze, having been used to staying up late, took the first shift watching camp. Link took the second, and the entire night was peaceful from then on.

They all got a good rest, and in the morning set off again as soon as they could for Blazing Light. Cronos was speaking to Link, and Suleykaar approached her quietly.

 

“Hey.” He smiled, and she smiled back.

Keeping her eyes on the ground in front of her, she replied with a simple, “Hiya.”

“…How are you doing?” he asked. Blaze wondered if the conversation would become less awkward.

“I’m good, thanks. Yourself?” she replied with a serene smile, glad to no longer be in that place.

“Same… umm, you were talking to Cronos yesterday. Guessing you two get along? You looked comfortable.” Blaze thought it was quite nosy that he was asking her about the conversation, but she didn’t say anything and tried to stay as polite as she could.

“Yeah, we do. He’s nice but a bit insecure I guess… we spoke about religion, mostly.” She answered. Suleykaar sighed.

“I know. I did a second shift with him ‘cus he said he didn’t want to be alone.” The male chuckled. “Then he told me about Ara-wotsit and we spoke about our families and then about Murquah.”

“Huh, sounds like a good conversation… oh, speaking of families…” she trailed off, wondering if she should ask him about his relations. It was difficult because dragons didn’t spend too much time with their family in Night Whisper, and coming into these chats you never knew what kind of horrible things might have happened to dragons.

“Don’t worry, no dead parents here. Ask me anything.” Suleykaar chuckled, and she breathed in relief.

“Oh, that’s good. Umm, I was just wondering if you had any siblings and stuff.” Blaze shrugged.

“Three sisters, one brother. I was really close to my brother and one sister. They were twins, the eldest of all of us. The other two could be quite uh… nasty, to put it one way. But the others are lovely. When mom and dad left for Twisted Shadow, they looked after me since I was the youngest and as soon as the others had a chance to be rid of us they left too, and headed off to Fading Star. I remembered what one of them said. Something along the lines of ‘I won’t have to look at your stupid face anymore’. Petty.” He chuckled, and so did she, amused by the very childish insult. “I’m glad I never saw them again. Myka and Commander are still in Night Whisper. They’re probably really worried about me…”

“We’ll have to go on another rescue mission, won’t we?” she laughed, and so did Suleykaar.

“I’m all for it. Don’t make me save your life a second time.” He grinned. The two were silent for a few moments before the male spoke up again. “Anyway, tell me about your family.”

“All I have are my parents. They're probably dead now, I'm not sure." She shrugged, barely even remembering them.

“If you had parents, how did you end up fighting for Zaro? He usually wouldn’t take dragons who could defend themselves or be defended.” He sounded genuinely intrigued. Blaze shrugged.

“Ambushed us in the day. Us fire dragons… well, our specific subspecies, we can cause our hair to set on fire and we have flame breath as well.” Why exactly he had taken them was confusing to her still. They cut her hair and muzzled her with that damn givrilm. “Maybe he intended to get me paired with some random Night Whisper dragon and then bring up the young in the faction as his own mental killing machines with fire hair, but kept me in the arena until I was old enough. Zaro actually has some decency?”

“It’s a possibility. I’m glad you weren’t mated off.” Suleykaar’s voice shrunk slightly, and he stopped awkwardly as if he wanted to say more but didn’t. Blaze caught what she interpreted to be an almost flirty statement, and dismissed it. They had not long known each other. However, there was something about him she liked. Perhaps it was the fact he saved her life. That tended to bond dragons one way or another.

“Me too.” She agreed. “Besides, I'd hate for my worth to only be being his plaything and... kids. What am I even worth outside of that anyway?"

“Well, plenty. You can fight, you’re great to make conversation with… you’re loyal towards good causes, you give dragons a chance and you’re not scared to change things when you can. I don’t know about you, but I love dragons like that.” He smiled, and by the amount of compliments she got she was pretty sure at this point he wasn’t purposefully flirting but instead just trying to be a decent friend. “Umm, not in that way though!”

“It’s okay, I get you... thanks.” She chuckled. The male breathed with relief, and the two walked in a comfortable silence. That was when Link approached, a solemn expression upon his face. Suleykaar got the hint and the two exchanged a small ‘goodbye’, wings brushing gently together.

“Hi, sorry to interrupt you two.” Link apologised, taking up her former company’s space and getting quickly comfortable with the pace the group walked at again.

“It’s okay. I can’t talk to the same dragon forever can I?” she shrugged.

“I suppose not. Anyway, I was wondering if you wanted to spar with me when we get back to the heart. As in just a quick trip or something. Only if you want to, of course.” He asked quietly.  _Huh, I hadn’t taken him for the quiet and polite type at all. Oh well._

Shrugging, she spoke back to him with a slightly more confident voice than he had. “Sure, I don’t see why not. It’ll be fun to see how you guys fight, I might be able to find something useful out from you.”

Link squinted, and she only just caught it through the corners of her forwards-facing eyes.

“Are you a spy?” he asked, a slight snarl in his quiet voice. It was surprising to hear and it caused the female to shrink slightly.

“W-what? No, Link, I was just curious! I’m not good at-” she tried to defend herself but he was already walking off to discuss something with someone else. Blaze didn’t know what to do. She watched as the warrior declared they were setting up here for a while, and she felt eyes burning into her. The fire dragon was genuinely scared for her life and, for once, trembled at the thought of death like she’d never done in the arena.

_This is all Zaro’s fault._


	4. Blazing Light

When Blaze woke up again, it was dark and she couldn’t hear that many dragons breathing anymore. The only breath she heard seemed quiet, so she assumed it was her own. A couple voices came from somewhere nearby. Blaze panicked. Where was everyone? Were they all the ones talking quietly? She sat up, looking in the direction of the sound. The fire still flickered in the centre of where the group had settled down, and she walked around it, feeling the heat tickle her scales. Walking through the bushes, her eyes landed upon the group of dragons she’d left Night Whisper with before this rescue mission. Suleykaar and Cronos were there, listening to the eldest dragon there. The pretty female (whom she did not know) was running through some sort of plan with them, and a couple piped in when they had an idea or question. Blaze came into their view and was greeted eagerly. Cronos angled his head to his side briefly and she took a place there. The Lurquahn began to whisper the plan to her so far.

“What’s gonna happen is one of us – we decided against sending you or Prakem since you both had it worse from Zaro – is going to head back to Night Whisper, tell them they need to attack Blazing Light while they’re weak, whilst we all go to Blazing Light and warn them of the incoming attack. Then, we’ll fight for Blazing Light and they’ll let us back in and we’ll be free from Zaro once and for all.” He hardly hesitated and it was pleasant to see his shyness evaporate. He then shrunk down a little, feathers ruffling in the breeze gently. “U-um, unless you wanna go or uh… if you have a better plan I’m sure… umm, th-that Mhica will listen a-an-”

She took it back. He was very shy. “Shh, the plan’s great.”

“O-oh! Okay.” The male beamed as if it were his own plan being complimented, and the two sat silently, listening in to whatever else was being said. The plan seemed pretty good.

“Alright, so who’s going to go to Night Whisper?” Mhica asked, and instantly a dark black dragon with jagged scales and a generally sharp appearance chimed in.

“I’ll do it.” He said confidently. The female shot him a very surprised and concerned look which she took no effort to disguise.

“Are you sure? It’s dangerous, if you got hurt, Zehrok…” she trailed off, and the male shook his head.

“No. I owe you all this. I promise I’ll be fine, okay?” Zehrok objected, and Mhica briefly fell silent.

She spoke up again, her voice shaking slightly, “Alright, so we’re set. You’re all dismissed… the plan will start tomorrow… let’s stay safe until we return, okay?”

Everyone except Zehrok left the female, and Cronos jumped up and stared at Blaze as if he had urgent news.

“Blaze!” he yelled, catching her attention quickly and effectively. She turned to face him, and he was smiling brightly. He seemed eager for something, and when she tilted her head he became still. His head neared hers, and when their noses almost touched he smirked. “Wanna hear a song?”

She was utterly confused by the question, and looked into his black eyes momentarily. She smiled at his enthusiasm. It was unlike any she’d ever seen before. “I guess I could listen in for a song.”

“Yay!” Cronos sounded more excited than ever, and she wondered why he’d decided just now to sing to her. Just as he opened his jaws again, the voice of another male broke through the quiet.

 

“There’s something wrong, guys!” it sounded like Suleykaar. The two switched their gazes from each other through to the trees, and then they both began to make their way towards him.

As soon as the food pile and the group surrounding it was in view, it was clear what was wrong. She’d seen it in pit fighters frequently, and a lot of them died from it. She was unfortunate to suffer through it briefly, but was treated by a healer within good time and was able to survive.

“Rilmsil.” Blaze cringed at the thought of the horrible disease. She remembered the way her throat closed until she couldn’t breathe, and the way other affected dragons died with iron coating the entirety of the entrance of their throat and sometimes their teeth. In the worst cases, it covered their entire mouth and sometimes their lips. It was horrible. “I-I… it’s very difficult to cure.”

The deer had reached the final stage of the disease, where the iron actually punctured their insides and grew to protrude from their throat. Blood caked the metal.

“Rilmsil? Isn’t that a mythical disease?” Zehrok asked sceptically, and she couldn’t stop herself from stuttering in horror.

“N-no, it’s u-uh… it’s caused by contact with a certain metal. Apparently it’s found mainly in Night Whisper territory, but… it’s possible it can spread.” Blaze answered, and she flinched away from the deer when Suleykaar nudged it closer. “And if you touch it you’re gonna get it too.”

“So can we still eat it?” Mhica enquired, inspecting the metal carefully though she took care not to touch it.

The fire dragon shook her head. “No, we don’t know if the iron worked itself into the bloodstream or not.”

“…How large is the affected area?” the white-scaled female asked, moving away from the diseased prey animals.

“I don’t know, but we should be fine as long as nobody touches it.” Blaze answered.

Suleykaar seemed quiet.

When they settled down again for the rest of the night, Cronos approached her and asked once again to sing to her. She accepted, and until she slept he sang her lullabies.

 

* * *

 

 

The next day, Blaze couldn’t help but notice how stressed Suleykaar appeared. He even  _looked_ in pain to some extent, but she brushed it off as injuries from the rescue.

The others seemed generally okay apart from him, and she was happy to see Cronos awake and fine. They set off within the hour, a black dragon in lead. Not much happened. She talked casually with Cronos and Suleykaar, and she even ended up checking on Prakem, who seemed shaken up; she reckoned it was thanks to a bad dream or something.

When the heart, the home of Blazing Light, came into view the entire team of dragons grew excited. Mhica, at the lead of the bunch, kept her head high as she lead them through the entrance. All eyes were upon them, and Blaze’s eyes found Link. The fighter’s face burned with distaste, and he slunk into the middle tree, no doubt to alert Storm of the ‘intruders’ in her land.

When the general of the order saw them, she stormed right up to Mhica’s face, a snarl in her voice and fire in her amber eyes. Blaze almost flinched at the tension between them.

“What are you and your spies here for?” Storm hissed, baring her teeth aggressively. She had clearly been tainted by Link’s words.

“We aren’t spies.” Mhica responded, keeping a calm demeanour despite the confrontation. Not even her eyes betrayed her. “In fact, we came to warn you of an attack.”

“What?” the general snapped, recoiling slightly and flexing her claws. “An attack from who?”

The pale female turned and cast a glance towards Suleykaar. “Night Whisper. A learner from the hold told us that Zaro had plans to attack before the end of the week.”

“And why should we believe that?” Storm eyed Suleykaar as if he had some sort of disease. The young dragon straightened his posture, showing no fear.

“Why would we tell you of an attack if we were on their side? Zaro would want to catch you by surprise.” Blaze piped in, and all of a sudden those flaming amber eyes were burning into her scales.  _If she attacks us I’m going to have to kill her. I can’t stop myself._

“Perhaps you want to panic us, and strike fear into the order’s dragons. You must have some ulterior motive.” She argued, and a sudden sense of hopelessness befell the fire dragon. This general seemed so set on her ideas, and so unwilling to listen to those she already had a tainted view upon. “Get out of the heart.”

Mhica was taken aback, and Blaze stepped forward to protest. “General, you’re endangering the order.”

“Get out.” The dragon repeated once more, and after a moment of hesitance the leader of the group turned around.

“Come on. Let’s go. We won’t help when Zaro has his claws at her neck.” Mhica shrugged, and they all headed back, though not a single head was low.

 

* * *

 

 

A while away from camp the group found a cave where they could settle, and Cronos and Blaze were huddled close, sharing warmth with each other. They supposed the biggest comfort at the time would be each other’s company, and were simply silent, wings wrapped around each other and faces close. All of a sudden, the wyvern cleared his throat and drew his legs close.

“Hey, Blaze… I was just thinking and umm… well, I suppose this has just been a pretty wild ride, huh? But I want to know if you think that… maybe… things are gonna be okay.” His voice was laced with a deep doubt, and it broke her heart.

“Cronos, it’s gonna be alright in the end. It might seem… well… hard… um, it might seem hard right now, but it’ll all work out, okay?” she promised, though she couldn’t hide the uncertainty from her quiet voice.

He picked up on it almost immediately. “Y-you’re not sure, though.”

“Of course I’m not. I can’t forsee the future, I’m not Rynn or Arasil or any of the gods. I’m just…”  _a killing machine, a monster, nothing special,_ “…a mortal, Cro. I’m trying to get by, just like you. And it’s hard but… We can do it, alright?”

He found some spot on the ground to focus his eyes upon. “What if we can’t?”

“We don’t think of that possibility until it is all too real.” She replied. "Besides, I think we'll do just fine. Look at the dragons around us. We've already made a brighter future by escaping Zaro."

Cronos sighed quietly, then drew his face awfully close to hers. They breathed quietly together, sharing a moment of serenity, before their gazes met. The two were still, and then suddenly he moved his head backwards and away.

"Thank you Blaze." He murmured, tracing his claws along a scratch in the floor. "I... I hope we can do this."

"Of course we can, Cro. Now please get some sleep, I don't want you to overthink things. You're an amazing dragon, and I don't want you to get upset." Blaze urged, huddling up closer to his body in an attempt to comfort him.

"Yeah. I'll get some sleep." The wyvern flicked his tail, entwining it with hers. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight." With a very gentle reassuring nudge, she too closed her eyes and awaited sleep's hold.

 

* * *

 

 

Upon the morn, the sound of a loud roar roused the group from their formerly peaceful slumber. The dragons jumped to their feet, Mhica exiting the cave to cast her eyes over the landscape.

When she returned, she looked somewhat grim.

"Fighting in Blazing Light's camp. We warned them and now they suffer." She reported, and the group all exchanged glances of uncertainty when Zehrok abruptly barrelled into the den, wrestling with a dark grey dragon. Claws flew and jaws snapped, wings flapping and dragons rolling in an attempt to gain the advantage.

Mhica stood completely still, horrified. Cronos and Prakem were also in slight shock it seemed, and the others were just yelling as if that would help. Blaze, the most battle-ready of them all, lunged into the midst of the fight.

Immediately, claws shredded a large cut into her shoulder and she roared in pain. Her heart was beating loud, adrenaline pulsing through her veins, as she kicked and squirmed to separate Zehrok from the attacker. A swipe to their throat caused them to jump away, and she leaped to grab onto their back. They tried to shake her off but she hung there, biting down harder and harder. The booming in her ears grew louder and a rush of energy ripped through her body as finally she latched her claws into their throat and ripped upwards.

When they dropped, throat gargling, she stepped away. Blaze was panting, hardly aware of the wound she took to the shoulder thanks to the distracting rush of adrenaline. Zehrok came to her side. He was breathing more heavily, likely having been a part of the fight longer.

"Thank you." He sighed, staring down at the corpse alongside its killer.

"It's alright." Blaze returned, before turning to stare into the distant camp. The fighting there was beyond severe, and even from the cave she could see how much blood had been spilled.

"We need to go.  _Now."_ Zehrok insisted, turning to face the group. He only looked to them for a second before taking flight and soaring towards the battle zone.

Mhica hesitantly nodded, and the rest of the group followed. The urgency in the air was almost suffocating. The fear even more so.

 

When they reached camp there were loud roars and growls erupting from all over. Blaze didn't need an invite to launch into battle. She had no clue which faction was which until she found Storm with her claws around the throat of a large white dragon. The leader was wearing a golden helmet, the horns on her head coated in blood. When Blaze approached, they shared a harsh glare before the leader approached.

"I'm sorry." Storm muttered.

"It's fine. You didn't know." She shook her head, but before another word could be shared she threw herself back into the midst of the fight and found a dragon pinning a gold-helmet, raising their claws for a final strike. A strong ram into their shoulder sent them into the ground easily, and the friendly dragon nodded in thanks before taking their chance.

Blaze didn't get long to relax and was soon thrown aside by a large black dragon. She hit the ground hard and her breath flew from her lungs. Dirt infiltrated her wound and it started to burn. The fire dragon gasped for air, coughing hard. That was when the black dragon opened his wings and revealed their blue webbing.

"Zaro." She snarled, rolling to her feet. Regaining her breath was proving to be a difficult task, so she took a battle-ready stance to avoid letting him see her weakness.

"Blaze." Zaro was quite delighted to see his former prisoner. A smirk spread across his narrow face and his crimson eyes burned with malice. "What a surprise to find a little red dragon here. Found yourself a new play pen?"

"You should talk less." Blaze lunged for his throat, but he quickly shut down her attack by slamming her back into the ground with a single foot.

"Oh, but Blaze... you don't understand the pleasure of monologuing~" his voice was a purr, and he paced around her collapsed form. "Seeing you so weak... oh, it  _is_ delightful. And better yet, in the midst of battle, who's going to save you?"

She cringed slightly, her gaze wavering on his before dropping to the ground. "You sound like a posh, spoiled brat."

The large dragon merely scoffed. His claws came to rest gently upon her head, though with a simple increase of pressure she'd be dead within a second. "My dragons were disappointed when I took you from the arena. They loved you, Blaze, more than any dragon here ever can or will."

"I-I..." the fire dragon hesitated.  _He's right. Who would care for a monster like me? I was there to entertain. I've let down my fans. I..._

"They would kill to have you back, Blaze... would you want them to be so disappointed?" he was speaking in more of a whisper now, leaning in.  _Please stop._  "That would be awful wouldn't it? But they'd be so joyful to have you back!"

She felt a slight increase of pressure and she tried to flick the sharp spade on her tail, but it was held down.  _Is this is? Is it go home or die? But if I go back..._

Then she remembered her final resort, and within moments the regrowing hair on her back had erupted into flames. Zaro's arms were soon engulfed by it. He emitted a roar of agony, rearing onto his back and stretching his wings wide. Blaze saw her opportunity and finally scrambled to her feet, giving her a chance to lunge at his chest. She started tearing at it. He grabbed her by the neck and ripped her away. Those fiery claws closed around her throat hard. She gasped for oxygen, kicking her legs in an attempt to break free.

"Do you know  _how much_  I want to do this?" there was an unfamiliar snarl in his voice. "I want you to die knowing  _you_  were the one in the prophecy. The one that failed."

 _What prophecy? There is no prophecy._ She tried to speak but gave a harsh wheeze; her throat was closing tighter.

"Blazing Light died delivering the prophecy, and the world is to be brought to a halt. Rynn thought I followed tradition. But I've always lived by one rule." Zaro smirked, looking her dead in the eye as he drew his face close, claws squeezing until her vision began to spin. She swore her heart stopped. "Kill the tradition."


	5. Thunder and Lightning

When the messenger from Blazing Light came stumbling and stuttering straight into Dash's arms, he knew that a fight was coming. Storm rarely asked for help, so when she did it was serious. And this was one of those cases.

He cradled the dragon in his arms, examining their body for wounds as a crowd gathered. Of course, there was bound to be intrigue into what was happening.

When news of a battle reached the leader, there was instant preparation and the moment they arrived at the scene there was ultimate chaos. Dash was horrified to see so much gore and suffering, and the sounds of screeching steel and screaming dragons was enough to cause him a headache. Blazing Light's gold-armoured dragons were giving the fight their all, and soon he'd joined one of them in fighting off an unfairly large brute of a dragon. The two of them made a fine team and beat him to the ground quickly. After giving a farewell to his comrade, he proceeded to wrestle with a strong warrior and electrocute a small but swift and deadly dragon, but even at the speed the allies were decreasing Night Whisper's population it just seemed as if they were still in great number.

So he figured the only way to take down the army was to take down Zaro, and he only knew one dragon with the skillset to do it.

 

He snapped the neck of his enemy and took off, swift as lighting, and took the journey to the west coast, not far from the forest of Blazing Light. The flight was a mere few minutes thanks to his magic, and when he arrived he still had enough energy to travel a hundred miles or more. The landing was easy, and he came to a steady halt, drawing his wings back to his sides and staring behind him in case he'd been followed. He only saw the ocean and the distant shoreline of the mainland. Bolt's island wasn't too far from it: a little piece of rock perfect for a single dragon.

"Bolt?" he stuck his head inside the cave, and found the tiny black-scaled male dragging his claws across the wall. What he was doing wasn't clear, but the second Dash spoke his name he turned.

"Who's battle am I fighting this time?" the small dragon asked, clearly bored. His eyes were half-lidded, uninterested.

"You know I wouldn't come to you if it was any ordinary battle." The electric blue dragon sighed, his lightning-bolt markings drawing his gaze to a shiny crystal cluster on the ceiling.

"...It's Zaro." Bolt grimaced. He stood within a few seconds, flexing his wings and sighing. He flicked his spaded tail in annoyance. "So where are we headed?"

"Blazing Light. They sent a messenger to Fading Star, but Zaro's army just seems to never get smaller." Dash brought his golden eyes to Bolt, who was trotting past him.  _God, I'd forgotten how tiny he was._ The dragon's head reached Dash's shoulder. He looked puny and weak.  _Zaro's going to snap his neck in seconds. And that's to say he doesn't crush him first._

Bolt snapped him out of his trance with a growl. "You're making me do this. Now hurry up."

They took flight, and once again it was a quick five-minute trip before Dash laid his eyes upon the blood-coated land. He examined it, searching for the black and blue commander until he found him holding a small red dragon by the throat.

 

"Look. There's Zaro." He pointed out to the other, and no further invitation was needed.

The two of them plunged into the battlefield from the sky, roaring and throwing Zaro into a crowd of fighting dragons. He let go of his victim mid-fall, sending them coughing and gasping into the dirt. Dash changed course to run over and shield them from any other dragons as a voice broke through his head. _Protect her. Stay with her. She will need you._

He was too alarmed by the battle around him to give much thought to it, his eyes fixated upon his friend.

Bolt had the far larger dragon pinned, then Zaro pushed him over and opened his jaws to breathe burning black fire into his face. Bolt took it. There was a roar-screech from the tiny dragon. He lunged, set alight.

They rolled for a minute - chunks of flesh flew from both dragons. They were soaked in red by the time they stopped clawing at each other. Dash almost heaved when he saw the large rips in Zaro's body, the flaps of skin hanging from his sliced shoulders.  _It's over. Zaro can't survive this._

In a final reach for victory, the larger dragon used the last of his energy to grab Bolt and slam him into the earth, holding him down forcefully before grabbing his face and sticking his thumbs into both his eyes. The tiny male let out a screech, kicking and flapping his wings but to no avail. Pain. Dash almost felt it himself. The agony in the sound clawed at his heart. There was a small sound, and he was just about close enough to hear it. A pop. Something bursting. And then blood like sticky, pulpish yolk erupted onto Zaro's claws and coated Bolt's brows and cheeks. The blue onlooker choked, holding his breath for too long, and he blinked rapidly as the two collapsed at last.

"What the hell?" he yelled, and all of a sudden there were a few dragons turning to stare at the sight. And then two more, six more. Then there was hardly any fighting anymore. All attention was on the collapsed dragons. Fading Star and Storm pushed through the crowd, and when they reached the front Fading Star grimaced and Storm threw up the second she laid her eyes on the two. Dash wasn't surprised. He finally remembered to breathe properly, and stepped away from the red dragon he was standing over. Her sides were still rising and falling, so it seemed she had only been knocked out. **_When she awakens, you must see her. Walk the path she follows alongside her._**

This time, Dash flinched and looked around, confused. He'd never heard this voice before and there was nobody around him making the sound. _Is my training truly driving me crazy? I'm not crazy. I-I must just be hysterical from that fight. And that pop..._

"A-alright, let's get some healers on the scene. Can somebody fetch a healer?" Fading Star quickly caught onto the blue dragon's movements, though Storm continued to stare in complete and utter shock. Dash would have offered comfort if a fire-coloured dragon hadn't come over to guide her away from the scene. The other leader was now pacing around Bolt's body, unsure whether or not to pick him up it seemed.

The blue dragon had to pipe up. "Leave him, Fading Star. I'll tend to him myself."

And so the leader instead headed over to the red dragon laying unconscious.

"What were they doing fighting Zaro?" he uttered, and Dash couldn't quite figure it out himself.  _Even giving Zaro a hard look is deadly, let alone taking him on in battle._

"A kid with a little too much ambition, I'd say." A small part of him missed that kind of childish ambition, but his training had drained him of most hopes and dreams, and perhaps it was for the best. **_She was a pit fighter. Zaro has abused her all her life. She hates him for what he did._**

"Blazing Light's dragons always do try to shine." The leader chuckled before Dash could even try to speak with the voice before standing once again. "I'd better ward off the rest of Night Whisper."

Dash watched him go, waiting for the voice to pipe in once again but this time it said nothing and his mind began to wander alongside his eyes. He noticed that Zaro's body was gone, and instantly the shock of what he just watched settled in all over again. He saw it in repeat: the tearing of flesh, dark liquid splattering everywhere, that sickening sound.  _Pop._ His head replayed, over and over.  _Pop. Pop. Pop._

The blood, bitty and pinkish-red, the mush of what remained of the yellow eyeballs mixing with the thick oozing substance... would he ever forget it? He'd seen some nasty things in his past, but bursting eyes was a first. And Bolt's, of all dragons. Dash felt a heavy nausea. He cringed. Looking out onto the battlefield likely wouldn't be of aid either considering it was in similar condition, so he just stared at the red dragon's bruised throat until they were carried away by the healers.

He took a deep, long breath - and then twenty more - before turning at last to walk over to Bolt.  _Oh no... he's gonna strangle me, isn't he?_

 

In order to ignore the pulp, he dragged Bolt by the tail into a puddle of blood and splashed it into his face to try wash away what was left of his eyes. When it was gone, Dash grabbed the little dragon in his hands and carried him across the heart until they were behind the healers' tree. He sat and waited for a while, watching as the blood slowly trickled back into the wound and they each closed up, slowly, as if time were being reversed. The flaps of skin hanging off curled back in and reconnected to the body, leaving no trace of themselves at all, and the missing chunks of flesh simply reformed. His eyes slowly found shape once more, becoming yellow and beginning to shine.

Bolt twitched, then coughed and spluttered and sat up swiftly.

"Is he dead?" was the first thing that came from his mouth. His voice croaked, hoarse.

"I would very well say so, yes." Dash answered, digging his claws into the ground and tearing away at it, trying to distract himself from the memory of the noise and the sight.

"He tried to burst my eyes." The tiny male grumbled though there was amusement to his tone, all as if it were a simple game and he had won.

"Mhm. I expect you want to kill me for dragging you into this..." he sighed, tail whacking the worms he unearthed.

"It was fun." Bolt shrugged. "It hurt a lot but it was worth it. The miserable tosser can rot in Hell for all I care."

 _How charming._ "Aren't you just a ray of sunshine?"

He got a huff in response, to which he answered with a sharp whack to the shoulder. Bolt stretched, then swiftly changed subject. "How's the little red one?"

"You mean the dragon we saved?" Dash figured it was a stupid question soon after asking. "They were taken away by the healers. They'll be awake by now, and I'd say they'd like to see their saviour."

"I suppose." Bolt shrugged, then he brought himself closer to the blue dragon and frowned. "Hey. Are you okay?"

He paused. _If I tell him about the voice he's going to think I'm crazy. I mean,_ I _think I'm crazy but... no, I can't say a word of it. Even if I did say something, I don't know what this voice is yet so there's no point._ "I'm fine. Let's go see if the fire dragon is okay."

 

* * *

 

 

The healers' tree was a grim sight. He peeked into each room to examine the patient only to see dragons with awful battle wounds, some dying and others in dire conditions. He felt sick. The reality of fighting settled in and for a second he felt a sense of impending doom, because any day a dragon could come and steal him away. But he tried to keep it from his mind as he wandered the corridor, Bolt behind him.

They found their dragon soon enough. They were in the recovery ward, wounds stitched up and covered with bandages and ointment. Their neck was supported by what appeared to be very soft pillows, and their eyes were dull. Once again, the voice circled around his head. **_Her. She needs you. You must keep her safe._**

"Hey, I'm sorry if we're interrupting your rest. We wanted to come and see you." Dash kept his tone soft and his voice quiet, not wanting to alert them after the violent battle. The voice fell silent and he thanked the gods for the peace.

"It's fine. I've been lonely anyway, so the company's nice." He was instantly interested by her voice. She sounded a lot younger than she looked, voice lacking the resonance of a male and sounding a lot younger than an adult dragon, which she looked as if she were.

"I'm Dash, and this is Bolt. He fought off Zaro after you blacked out." When he introduced the little black dragon's achievement, her eyes glimmered with a newfound gratitude.

"Oh! I'm Blaze. I'm sorry I didn't recognise you. I really appreciate your help, Bolt." She smiled warmly towards the black dragon, who returned a blank face as per usual.  _I don't know what I even expected._

"Mm. It's nothing." Bolt shrugged, sitting down casually. He looked very out of place beside the two average-height dragons. "I know my brother well enough to kill him ten times over."

"Brother?" Blaze tilted her head, and for a second Dash had no idea what to say. Everyone knew about Bolt, no matter which group they were from. Perhaps she was from the sister island, and she had no knowledge of Murquahn affairs.

Even Bolt seemed surprised by this, and so he couldn't help but squint in confusion. "Zaro's my older brother - I thought everyone knew of me."

"I-I'm sorry, he never spoke of you." She seemed somewhat ashamed, and when she met Dash's eyes she winced and dipped her head. "Please don't hurt me. I didn't know, that's all."

The two males exchanged confused glances before Dash grabbed both of her hands and squeezed them in an attempt to bring comfort. He disregarded the huff from the small dragon, instead focusing only on her. "Hey. It's okay. It's not your fault; you don't have to apologise, alright? We're not mad."

She shook her head, keeping her gaze low. "Please don't drag it out... if you're gonna hurt me make it quick."

"Gods, we don't want to do you  _any_ harm. You've done nothing wrong." Something in his words must have resonated, because she suddenly looked up at him and began to sob uncontrollably. He reached out to embrace her, trying to be mindful of her injuries. Hot tears were falling onto his back and he had no idea if there was something he could say or do to help so he just remained silent, rubbing her back gently.

"I get the feeling Zaro's done something bad to her." Bolt commented. The idea made plenty sense - crumbling at something as small as not remembering a name was highly unusual.

"We'd best not pry right now... she needs some time." He gave his friend a weak smile, and he rolled his eyes.  _I'd forgotten how heartless he is._

"...I think I'm going to take my leave." Bolt was understandably awkward, and so when he slipped away from the room there was no hassle.

It was far more comfortable with just the two of them anyway, so Dash was rather thankful for it. He continued to simply listen to Blaze's incoherent ramblings and sobs until no more tears fell and she was able to breathe once again. When she pulled back from the hug, she was wiping away what was left beneath her eyes.

"Thank you." She uttered. The shake was still in her voice.

"It's alright. You really didn't do anything wrong, so please don't ever think that." He smiled, though his mind kept wandering to the question his friend had asked.  _If Zaro has done something, what might it be? She wasn't one of his pit wolves... was she?_

"...I-It's hard not to. But really," the red dragon looked him in the eyes, "thank you so much."

"Really, it's fine." He reached for her hands, gently grasping them in a comforting gesture. She seemed confused, and consequently he had the same reaction upon noticing it. "Is something wrong?"

Blaze shook her head. "It's just that most dragons... well, see holding hands and hugging and all that as romantic."

"Ah. I apologise." Dash chuckled. "It's a Fading Star thing - uh, we're generally... affectionate I guess? Our home is a mess of hugs, hand-holding and cheek kisses. You'd think we're all lovebirds."

That earned a small laugh from the dragon, a very welcome response. Dash spent a second just looking into her eyes - he didn't want her to start crying again, of course. She soon collected herself, sniffling the last few times and her eyes clearing though still slightly red. He finally let go of her hands.

"Feeling better?" he asked softly.

"Plenty." Blaze nodded, and before she could utter another 'thank you' a healer came in and (with a harsh glare towards Dash) and ushered her back into her resting place. He let himself out, and slipped away from the den swiftly, not wanting to linger where his presence was obsolete.

 

Fading Star sat outside the tree, staring out across the land. Dash let his gaze fall over the battleground. Several dragons sat weeping or sitting in grief at the bodies of loved ones whilst others were carried away to burial grounds. Water dragons were taking care of the bloodstains and various other leftovers of the fight. A blue-black sky blanketed the land in a grim shadow and dark, heavy clouds sat dormant in the distance. He could compare them to the dragons of Night Whisper; they would wait patiently until the urge to pounce grew too heavy, and then their thunderous war cries would flay the silence and all Hell would break loose.

Alas, there was always calm before the storm, and oftentimes after it too.

He approached his leader, gently wrapping a wing around his shoulder.

"How are you?" Dash asked quietly, easily noticing the sorrowfully thoughtful film coating the dragon's eyes. Fading Star let out a sigh, leaning against the blue dragon in a gesture of trust as well as a reach for comfort.

"Troubled, I'm afraid." The frail-figured male shook his head slightly.  _I can't blame him. He's probably not seen much like this before._

And so it came to him once again. That dreadful pop, the pulpish remnants of the eye - would he have to live with that forever replaying in his head at the slightest mention? The flaps of skin torn away from their bodies, hanging like the drapes of weeping willows. The pinkish-blue flesh underneath was a sight he'd never seen before, and one he never intended to see again. Disgusted, he had to force himself not to gag.

He instead cleared his throat and reached to grasp one of Fading Star's hands gently. "Well you know I'm here if and when you need me, alright? It's not an easy thing to just up and forget."

"Thank you, Dash. You know the same for me." The leader smiled, and though his face still held a deep grief and sorrow he seemed to lose some of the tension that had been in his muscles. "How is that little red dragon?"

"She's doing alright. I think she's coping with a lot of emotions right now. When do we head off?" the electric dragon cast his gaze to the horizon. The sky nearby was growing darker every second, and he feared the storm would hit soon, possibly before anyone was prepared for it.

Fading Star was momentarily silent.  _I guess he doesn't know. It's circumstantial, I bet._ "I suppose it depends on what Storm says. Until we have word from her, we stay."

"Mhm. That makes sense." He nodded with a small sigh. He  _did_ want to go home, but he also wanted to stay to check up on that fire dragon and any others he could possibly help. Empathy and compassion came far too easy to Dash.

Fading Star smiled a somber smile, sad eyes scanning the land before he stood. "I'd best get some rest."

Dash, as per usual, grabbed the leader's hands in his own and gave each of his knuckles a small kiss. It was one of the rarer gestures dragons would share, but his affection for the leader was...

_Well, I care about him._

"Rest well, Fade." The two exchanged soft smiles, and the leader nodded before taking his leave.

"You too, Dash."


	6. General

Being awoken to a throbbing, intense pain was something she didn't expect after a rough battle but alas, it was what she got.

Blaze shot up from her resting spot in a panic, lunging instantly for the throat of the dragon looming over her. If not for their quick reaction time, sending her falling straight back down to the ground (hard, mind you), she would have unintentionally murdered an innocent. Violence was deep in her DNA and she expected this wouldn't be the first time, and so after being delivered that hard drop, she closed her eyes and tried to sleep once again.

 

This time, when she awoke, there was nobody around and a note was left on her bedside. It was a medical note, she recognised, and she felt incredibly lucky to be able to read for it was a note of her release from the medic hollow. She figured it wouldn't hurt to leave without leaving a note in return, so she let herself out into the sun where she could examine her wounds.

It quickly became apparent how much more advanced Blazing Light seemed to be in their healing methods in comparison to Night Whisper. The once gaping wounds she had earned were now more alike scratches. They were sore when touched but the feeling was far better than absolute agony at the slightest tap. She touched the scratch-like marks on her scales and sighed softly. It was almost as if they cared, but she figured that it was just their job and they had to actually live up to it.

Then her mind wandered to the fact that these wounds were her fault. She'd engaged in battle with Zaro. It was all a little faint in her memory, though, and she deeply despised that fact. She did know, however, that she hadn't even tried to flee when Night Whisper attacked. Only dragons that knew Zaro's faction well knew how to fight them, and she didn't know him much at all.

Or maybe she did.

She was his killing machine after all.

_That's right. Just a killing machine and nothing more. Worthless, nothing more than a monster. Nothing special. Killing machine, killing machine, kill-_

 

"Blaze."

That voice - it was vaguely familiar.

She looked up, unaware that her eyes were welling up until that moment. When her gaze met Storm's, she instantly expected some form of criticism. The general seemed like that kind of dragon; constantly aggravated and looking for something to complain about.

"General." She regarded Storm with a quiet and rather submissive tone, keeping her nose pointed downwards. _What have I done now?_

"...You did a good job, Blaze." The dark dragon smiled softly and for once Blaze felt a little less afraid.

"Oh. Thank you, general. I-I appreciate that." She instantly scorned herself for stuttering, but it seemed of little importance to the other.

"No, really. You did very well. Not only that but you survived Zaro's attack." Blaze didn't like that phrasing; it made her feel weak and as if she hadn't even tried to fight back."I apologise for doubting you and your group. Link painted you all as... monsters, I suppose."

_He wouldn't be wrong when it comes to me. What a filthy freak I am. All the innocent blood on my hands... God, I feel sick._

It seemed that Storm picked up on the sudden torment that fell upon Blaze's face, as she opened a wing over the younger dragon's back comfortingly. "You think you _are_  a monster... Oh, Blaze. I can't really say anything to convince you right away but trust me. You're not."

The little fire dragon wanted to believe it, she really really wished she could. But it made no sense after everything that had happened.

"Hey, listen. A little wyvern - Cronos, I think - came to me yesterday after I visited you. He asked me if he was allowed to visit. When I told him he could, he gathered all of the dragons from your group and they paid visit to you, even though you were asleep." Storm smiled a little more warmly this time. "A group wouldn't do that for a monster."

Blaze's heart fluttered in a kind of happy way. Maybe Storm was right. Although, maybe they didn't know yet. It was surely just a matter of time before her murderous nature returned - monsters always reverted back to their nature, right?

She cleared her throat regardless of the thoughts racing through her head and looked across the land, trying to focus on something else. She really wanted the general to be right.

After a few moments of silence - not awkward - Storm stood.

"I'll leave you be for now. Maybe you'd um," she fidgeted her claws, "find more comfort in a friend."

 

Blaze wanted her to stay, but before she could protest, the general was out of sight and the fire dragon was met with a deep feeling of loneliness.

 

When Storm was far from sight, Blaze felt her thoughts begin to weigh her down until she found herself in a fuzzy state of detachment from herself. She couldn't tell if she was feeling anything at all, or whether she was feeling everything at the same time, but her focus was so blurry that she wouldn't be able to make it out if she tried. Colours were odd - or were they colours at all? Things felt grey, and she could hardly make out the past hour in her memory.

Blue appeared before her, and she had absolutely no recollection of it approaching, but all of a sudden it was there and she felt numb.

"Blaze." She heard her name - or was it her name? It held some meaning to her but she wasn't quite sure if it was hers. "Blaze, hello?"

Suddenly there was something she could feel. A touch; the blue was holding one of her hands. She looked down, confused, then back up and tried to meet its eyes. They were either orange or yellow but the colour didn't quite make sense to her, so she gave up trying to identify it and instead paid as much attention as she could to the sensation of thumbs rubbing her palms gently.

"...You don't seem well. Come on." A wing around her back, then she was away from where she'd been and there were new fuzzy shapes all around but it felt a little bit safer. She was sitting again, and now there were hands on her cheeks. "Okay. Breathe, it's alright."

And so she did, listening to a soft, low voice guide her into deep breaths and then long exhales. And when the world started to become clearer alongside her mind, he ran her through her senses and she felt a little less fuzzy. Confusion still had her in its cold grip but she could see now, and when her eyes landed on the blue dragon, she recognised him vaguely, despite having no memory of him whatsoever.

Regardless of this, she rest her head on his shoulder and relaxed into the feeling of his arms and wings holding her close. It was comforting to just be hugged like that.

Blaze soon felt herself ease up, and the crushing numbness she'd been feeling began to raise gradually from her shoulders, so she pulled away from the stranger and looked into their eyes with a deep gratitude. They were yellow, a common theme on his body it seemed as it was covered in yellow lightning bolts, but the rest of him was a vivid blue. She swore she'd seen him before, but she figured her mind was just spinning from the last however long it'd been since the last thing she could remember. Everything after Storm left seemed to be a haze.

 

"U-um, that was probably a really bad first impression, whatever happened. I'm sorry." She muttered, avoiding his gaze though it was gentle and friendly. _He looks kind enough, maybe he'll understand?_

"No, it's okay. And we've met before, in the medic hollow. I'm Dash." He smiled warmly, and she really wanted to remember their first meeting because he seemed like a very nice dragon. She scoured her mind in search of memories but came up short. _Why can't I remember you?_

"I can't remember you... b-but you probably know my name, then." Blaze shuffled her feet, trying to be polite and sweeping her tail over her feet. But still, she felt guilty for some sort of crime she wasn't even aware she'd committed.

He seemed to pick up on it and grabbed her hands again. That feeling was so familiar - as if he'd done it a couple times before. Maybe he had, but there were so many fuzzy parts in her memory that she felt it wasn't even worth searching anymore.

"Yes, you're Blaze." He nodded. She felt his eyes on her face, and naturally she found herself shrinking under the feeling, half-expecting to be criticised. "You didn't look all that well when you were sitting there, so I figured I should come help. And I was right."

_But why? What do you get out of this? There's got to be something, surely._

"I don't know what happened, but whatever it was, thank you." She gave him a gentle and shy smile. "U-um, anyway, are you from Blazing Light?"

Dash shook his head, gazing somewhat wistfully across the forest and sighing. "If only. I'm from Fading Star."

 

She was confused for a moment, but she quickly put two and two together and figured it was another faction. Blazing Light, Night Whisper - it would certainly make sense for there to be a 'Fading Star' there. "Um, is that a faction? Can you tell me more about it?"

"You don't know about Fading Star? Good Gods, you mustn't be from around here then. Yes, it's a faction to the West of here in the hills, we're good friends with Blazing Light." He answered, though he stopped on an awkward note, as if there was more he wished to say. She decided not to pry.

"Oh, I see. So you're allies?" she guessed, though truthfully she had little knowledge of alliances. She just knew they were forbidden in the arena.

"You could say so, yes." Dash gave a shrug. "Um, how about you? Where do you come from?"

_He doesn't seem too keen on talking about his home. Something must be pretty awful about it._

"I'm from..." she trailed off, but she had no idea. It wasn't that her mind was hazy this time. "I-I don't know. Since I can remember, I belonged to Zaro's fighting pit and that's all I know."

His eyes widened and she shrunk instantly at the look. _Oh no, he knows I'm just a monster, he knows what I've done, he hates me he'll never see me as anything but a heartless freak-_

"I had no idea. That must have been awful, I'm so sorry you had to go through that." She felt as though the sympathy was fake, but she had no idea and hid her uncertainty behind an awkward smile.

"Yeah. It's not... it's not nice, um..." she muttered before sighing and looking away from him. _He thinks differently of me now, doesn't he? He knows what my past implies. All the dragons I..._

Her heart was racing now. Bad memories.

 

"Y-your friends visited you yesterday apparently. Perhaps they could help you get your mind off things." Dash suddenly suggested, squeezing her hands. "You should introduce me to them! They seem like a fun bunch."

_A fun bunch with painful memories._

"Um, okay. That's a good idea - where would they be?" she looked back to camp - when had they left camp in the first place? - and smiled a little more genuinely this time.

Dash let go of her hands, now standing and turning around to head back. "Come. I saw them on the way out."

 

They rounded a corner and the trees opened to reveal the heart and its sprawling clearing. She grimaced at the sight of splatters of blood which she assumed were from the battle. _The one I can't remember, mind you._

She had to let her eyes wander the land for a moment, having never really been able to take it in. All the trees around the borders seemed to be bustling with life with dragons jumping in and out of the hollows, exchanging words and even laughter. A few were eating together outside Storm's tree in the middle of the heart, seeming to be chattering without a bother in their minds. She found it peculiar how relaxed things were after a battle. Was this normal or was everyone acting as if things were a lot better than they actually were?

Abruptly, Dash halted and cast his gaze to the far right. She followed it, and instantly she spotted the group surrounding a makeshift campfire. She anxiously fidgeted her feet.

"We wouldn't be intruding on anything would we?" she asked, fearful that they wouldn't appreciate the company whatsoever.

"Don't be silly - they'll be happy to include you." Dash reassured, changing course for the group. The walk there felt like it was taking forever. Every step felt like a hundred, and she was easily worn out by the time she reached them. All it took was Cronos turning his head for the whole group to notice her presence, and instantly Mhica lunged forwards, wrapping her arms tight around Blaze and-

_Is she crying? O-oh God what did I do-_

"Blaze, I was so worried, you don't even understand how concerned I was, I am _so_ happy you're okay-" she cut herself off before she got carried away, and Blaze was deeply confused. They hardly knew each other, but all of a sudden Mhica was acting as if she were her daughter. Then Cronos came over and wrapped his wings around them both, pressing his head close to hers.

"We were very worried, Blaze. We thought Zaro killed you." He was far more composed than the older female which was a relief; she wasn't quite sure she could handle more than one crying dragon at the moment.

"Why do you all care so much?" she asked quietly, aware that she was being surrounded by the group. She didn't feel threatened, but rather safe. It was an odd and unfamiliar feeling.

It was Prakem who answered, his once fragile voice growing strong. Mhica and Cronos let go of her, and all attention was turned to him. "You helped to rescue us, Blaze. This group... this is a family. We might not know each other well, but..." He glanced between the dragons, gaze lingering on Dash and then falling back onto her. "Listen, I don't think this is the end of things. This won't be the end."

She was confused, but the edge in his voice was grim. "What do you mean?"

"This isn't the first time it's happened. Zaro won't be dead forever." He sounded crazy, but he knew Zaro better than any dragon there, and she felt inclined to believe his words. "He will be back and when he finds out you're alive..."

"What's with his fixation anyway?" Suleykaar suddenly spoke up. It was a fair question - his seeming obsession seemed unfair.

Prakem frowned. "There was a prophecy."

Then it came back to her. _"Blazing Light died delivering the prophecy, and the world is to be brought to a halt." So Zaro wasn't just going crazy._

"Zaro fears his demise. He told me that Blazing Light told them of a vision of himself dead, and a red fire dragon. He said he saw you in Blazing Light's eyes, and that he refused to allow the prophecy to come true. He told me he would kill the tradition." Prakem looked her in the eyes, then approached and gently took her hands. "This isn't the first time he's died, Blaze. And he _will_ be back for you. But I believe Rynn placed his trust in you for a reason. You're the dragon of the prophecy. I think I speak for everyone here when I pledge my allegiance to you, until the day I die."

"You do." Mhica nodded, and Blaze felt a sudden weight on her shoulders. As much as she appreciated their trust, she was way too young to have such a responsibility.

"I-I can hardly handle _myself,_ how do you expect me to fulfil a _prophecy?"_ she looked across them, expecting a flash of disappointment, but instead found understanding.

"I don't think there's much of a choice, Blaze. It's gone too far already. Zaro's not going to stop after this, after death he becomes awfully vindictive and you're going to be his target. You can't _not_ take on this responsibility." Prakem's tone was dark. She understood he wasn't trying to heavily pressure her and that it was likely the reality of the situation, but she felt as if she'd been trapped in some twisted reality.

"Listen-" Blaze almost jumped out of her skin when she heard Storm's voice. Had nobody realised she was there, or had she been there the whole time? "-this is going to become all-out _Hell_ once Zaro finds out you're alive. But it's going to happen sooner or later."

She turned to face Storm, and she hated the look on the leader's face. Too much of a serious look. She already felt the responsibilities settling on her back.

"You will have the support of the entire faction, Blaze. You have your friends to turn to in times of need. We will support you in your choices and advise you where it is needed. And to achieve what you must, you need to have the faction ready at your command." Storm smiled gently. _Oh no._ "Come, I must summon everyone for an announcement."

 

They followed Storm to her hollow, and she took a seat on an elevated rock just outside. Blaze felt a deep fear settling in. Something important was about to happen and she had this terrifying feeling that she was going to be involved in this thing. _I just want to be free. I'm sick of being tied down wherever I go._

Dash had taken a seat beside her when they settled down, and he reached to grasp her hand tightly. It seemed almost like second nature to him, grabbing hands.

Storm let out a thunderous roar - one that she imagined could be heard for miles - and instantly dragons gathered like a swarm of insects, filling a large area of the heart with their presence. She'd never quite realised how large the group was, and it was impressive to see so many dragons - especially after a fight. It struck her that some of them had quite different builds than the rest, however, and so she wondered if they belonged to the faction Dash spoke of. _Night Whisper, Blazing Light, Fading Star... what's the purpose of these groups anyway?_

When the dragons stopped emerging from hollows, Storm regarded them all with a hard look, though it was full of pride. "Recent events have brought to light not only the sheer strength of Night Whisper, but also the measures they will take to get revenge for petty reasons. I fear that if changes are not made, they will not stop until they get what they want. But we will _not_ back down."

Her eyes met Blaze's, and that was when her heart dropped.

"And that is why I am putting faith in the prophecy. The Gods have entrusted a great responsibility to a dragon who I believe will lead you all to victory, and triumph. Though she is young and has a lot to learn, myself and you - _all_ of you - will help advise her and she will in return bring us to a brighter future. Blaze, please take my place on this stone."

She swore in that moment everything froze, and the eyes of her friends were soon joined by the eyes of many strangers, each staring at her expectantly. But a nudge from Dash prompted her to stand and walk to where Storm had been addressing the faction. The stone felt warm under her feet, but the gaze of every single dragon in the crowd was scorching.

"Blaze will be your leader. You will follow her commands as you have done for me, and I expect nothing less than the loyalty that you have given me. This is the beginning of a new age for Blazing Light. A dark one. But we will not succumb to darkness; we will be the fire that will ignite a spark to create _peace._ And if we must, we will be the guiding light for a better world. For me, for you, for the entire faction."

"For Blaze!" Dash yelled, followed by one dragon, then two and then ten and then the entire crowd chanting all at once. Her chest felt heavy - not just with intimidation from all the yelling, but also in a sudden overwhelming joy. All these strangers were cheering for _her._ It was scaring her just a little to have all these voices shouting her name, but it was blissful to feel _appreciated_ for once. She looked over the dragons with a newfound pride and gave a light smile, her eyes finding Dash. He met hers and grinned happily, and her heart welled with joy.

She hadn't been in this faction long, but she knew now that _this_ was her new life. _This_ was freedom.


	7. Self-Reliance

Once the dragons dispersed and Blaze was left with just her group of friends, she swiftly returned to panicking and she was surrounded once more by the dragons that had passed over this great responsibility to her.

"I'm a _kid._ What do you expect me to do?" she thrust her head into her hands, covering her eyes and curling her fingers around her forehead. "I'm not made for this!"

"None of us are made for this, Blaze!" it was Zehrok who spoke up, and his approach was making her heart pound in her chest. He sounded angry and it was frightening. "Nobody comes into this world expecting to be presented with war and torment. You didn't ask to be thrust headfirst into this responsibility. But _we_ didn't ask to be thrown into that arena or to have to fight for our lives-"

"Zehrok, enough." Mhica's soft voice swiftly cut him off, and for that she was deeply thankful. She didn't like being yelled at, and she was sure he wouldn't have liked it if she started yelling back either. "None of us chose this. We are all going to struggle but right now Blaze needs us and I know she'll be there for us when we need her. So can you _please_ relax?"

He turned to her with a snarl for a second, then he took in a deep breath and stepped backwards, hanging his head. _He wasn't wrong, though. Nobody asked for this._

"Blaze, listen. It's gonna be okay. You won't have to kill anyone else and you're gonna make it. You're just the only one who can save this world from Zaro. If the Gods think you can do it, you _can_ do it." Dash reached forward to grab her shoulders, which alarmed her for a moment but when she met his eyes the world stopped spinning. For a moment, things felt like they were just _him._  "Do you... need some time alone, maybe?"

"U-um, that might be best..." she nodded, then turned to stare at the back of Zehrok's head. "Is he alright?"

Mhica looked his way too. There was sympathy in her eyes when she looked at him and it made Blaze feel like she'd done something horrible. "He'll be fine. I'll talk to him. You go rest, Blaze."

 

The fire dragon sighed, grabbing Dash's hands in her own. The feeling, despite having only been discovered earlier, felt so familiar already. It was comforting. Having never known affection, it scared her in a way. She didn't want to lose it. The thought frightened her more than anything.

When everyone went their own ways, leaving just Dash and Blaze, she looked back into his eyes. "Could you maybe... keep me company? I-it's alright if not, I just-"

"Of course I can, don't be silly. My life revolves around helping others." He smiled, leaning forward to embrace her once again. She returned the hug, clutching tight with a deep hesitance to let go. "Hey, maybe I can distract you from this whole 'responsibility' stuff. How about a story?"

She was slightly hesitant at first - stories were _childish_ and she was no child. _No, I-I think... I'll give it a try._

"Okay. Go ahead." She settled into his arms, pressing close to him. Curiosity struck her - was he going to tell a silly story, or one more mature perhaps? As long as it wasn't reminiscent of her past, she really wouldn't mind something so adult.

 

"There once was a kid. He had nobody. His mother didn't care for him and his father vented only his anger and frustration towards him. The little guy spent most of his childhood alone, his family so distant he could hardly remember the names of his siblings. But he could stand no more. Far too mature to understand the burdens of adulthood, nor the blessings, he fled at the age of ten. He flew across the entire ocean in no more than a few hours, heading to find a new place he could call home." When Dash pause, she wondered whether he was reminiscing or coming up with a new part of the story.  _God, I hope this has some sort of positive ending. That's grim._ "When he was far away from his old home, he found himself in an unfamiliar location. These dragons all spoke the same language, but their accents were strange and their systems were different. But most of all, their attitudes were different. He was afraid at first."

His grip tightened around her, and so she tightened hers, feeling as though she needed to comfort him. He cleared his throat, then continued, and she could feel his head turn to rest across the back of her neck. "He hid away, frightened and unable to settle in just yet. And so he was alone once again, but he was at least _safe._ Little did he know, there was another troubled soul waiting for him here. Another dragon, no stranger to suffering, stumbled across him and saw the torment within him. They were both sad, with little to live for anymore. Until the stranger took the kid under his wing. These dragons, who had felt alone and detached since they were born, suddenly had companionship.

And so they grew together from there on out, spending time with one another whilst still taking time to be independent. They shared things they'd told nobody: their pasts, their feelings, their traumas and their victories. And they felt okay for once.

It was a strong friendship, but both dragons sought to follow different paths. The kid decided to become an assassin and the not-so-stranger sought to find his family once again. So the kid left for Fading Star, but he always returned to his friend to share knowledge and training, and feelings and hardships.

The kid grew into a stronger dragon. He no longer knew fear, and whilst the sorrows of the past still lingered in his mind, they were nowhere near as painful as they used to be. And so he swore to himself he would help any who were hurting until the day he died, seeing the chance to change someone's life for the better as the greatest opportunity he could ever be offered."

Blaze took a moment to take in everything. The seamless way he told it was interesting to her - maybe he'd told the story many times over, or perhaps it held deeper meaning to him. "That was nice... I like that the one dragon was able to get away from that place."

"Hah... yeah, me too." The two split, now looking into each others eyes. He gave a soft, somber smile. "Must've sucked... Anyway, how are you feeling?"

The quick change of subject made her a little suspicious, but regardless she smiled back at him. _Maybe it_ is _personal to him._  "Better. Your story was really nice."

"Thank you, I'm glad it helped; I don't like to see others upset." He gently cupped her cheek, and having been in the arena all her life she was all too aware of his claws touching her scales. She felt her face heating and she closed her eyes, unsure how to react. "Hey, you should smile more often. It's pretty."

Fluttering. Her heart was fluttering. "M-my smile? Ah, I-I'm glad you think so."

"I _know_ so. Anyway, how about some food?" he offered, standing and drawing his hands back to rest before his chest. He looked somewhat regal standing two-legged, and if he were to wear a crown she wouldn't question his rank. Alas, he was no prince and he wore no crown, so she was still left to ponder his role in Fading Star.

"U-uh, sure. I'll have anything. Thanks." It took no more for him to stride off to head into the hollow where she assumed food was kept. It felt like forever since she'd last eaten. Being in the pit meant she didn't get meals as often as everyone else. Sometimes she would eat only once a week, and she'd come to accept that was the way things must be.

She shifted her feet. This place was different and she wasn't sure she how long it might take her to adjust to it. These dragons were a different kind of prideful. It was a pride that was more than just one dragon; it was a pride that was for every dragon in their faction and everything that they'd worked for. She hadn't been there long but it radiated from them clearly. It was undeniable and admirable and she wanted to radiate it from herself.

But for now, maybe she should simply focus on the food.

Dash returned with two lanky creatures. They had antlers branching from their heads which didn't look particularly appetising, but the rest of the animal appeared rather tasty. She tilted her head at him questioningly and he returned the look with equal confusion.

She poked one of the creatures with a claw, "What are they? I've never seen anything like that before."

"They're deer - bucks, to be exact, since they have the antlers. You've never eaten a deer?" he dropped one in front of her then sat to the side, quickly digging into his own meal as she curiously sniffed it. The scent was foresty and unfamiliar.

"No. In Night Whisper I only ate scraps and I think they mostly ate unicorns and Wendigos sometimes." She shuddered at the thought of the Wendigos. They were frightening in appearance - thin, bony limbs and a skull for a face, lanky with long claws and sharp antlers and dead eyes - and often paid the dragons of Night Whisper rather violent visits. Many times she'd heard news of dragons being murdered in the Hold, some disemboweled, some half-eaten, some flayed... there was no end to the violent fates that had befallen those who faced them. They were formidable opponents and were not to be fought alone as far as she knew.

Dash looked up at her and the sight of the deer's blood on his lips caused her to tense for a moment. She'd seen similar sights all too many times. Clear in her mind were the yellow eyes of her brothers and the way they reflected the scarlet liquid caking her jaws. She flinched when Dash spoke. "Mm, well enjoy this then. Blazing Light is great for deer. Now stop fawning over it and take a bite."

Quietly she tucked into her meal, trying to avoid the thoughts that were ruthlessly rushing through her mind.

 

She quickly finished her food, licking her lips and looking to Dash with a smile.

"Hey, I appreciate everything you've done for me Dash. Would you..." she blinked, hesitating; rejection almost felt inevitable. "Um, would you maybe be my u-uh, main advisor?"

Dash smiled to her, his eyes gentle. "Of course. It'd be a pleasure - I'm sure Fading Star wouldn't mind me dropping between factions."

"It wouldn't be a problem, would it? Because if so then I-I absolutely understand and-" she fumbled to find her words. They felt heavy.

"No. It's okay, Blaze. Trust me." He leaned forwards to press his head to hers, looking into her eyes. Everything felt gentle about Dash and it was nice. So different to that sharp, cruel nature of her captor. "I've got it under control. Look... we might have only just met, but I feel that this is the right thing to do. Zaro is a dangerous dragon and if he's alive like Prakem says then you're going to need everything you can get. Fading Star will be standing beside you, and so will I. Besides, our territory is only to the East and... I don't really have much back there anyway."

Hesitant but deeply thankful, she closed her eyes and uttered a small 'thank you'. It was true - Zaro's might was unmatched by any dragon and she had no hope of taking him down alone. After everything he'd done to her and to so many others she couldn't just sit by and let it continue.

A tap on her shoulder brought her out of her thought, and when she turned it was a shock to see Suleykaar standing there, looking extremely nervous. It was making her anxious too - it seemed to radiate and that was concerning. "C-can I um, just have a minute or two with you? I have something to tell you."

"Oh, of course. I uh... think that's all, Dash. Thank you for the deer." She smiled to the blue dragon and he nodded in return.

"It's no problem. If you need me I'll be near the exit. May the breath of the gods stay with you." He dipped his head then turned and made his way towards the Heart's exit, leaving her alone with Suleykaar. She gave him a friendly smile. _Gods, I've never seen a dragon so nervous. He can barely stand still._

"Well uh... you see I... well, ever since you saved us from Night Whisper I um... I've been really thankful for everything you've done and you're really caring and heroic and cool and... I admire you a lot. You're like... everything I want to be and more." He looked away from her, then cleared his throat. _Oh no._ "Blaze, I have feelings for you. I'm certain of it. Romantic feelings... and... I was just, wondering if maybe you returned them."

 _What?_ She swore her heart stopped. She felt her stomach twist in an awful way and her eyes widened as she stared at him. _I haven't even known him for that long: how can he expect me to return his feelings? He hardly even knows me. What do I even say?_

"U-umm, I..." she stuttered, drawing her hands up to her chest and tensing up. "Well... I-I, you see..."

Suddenly his pupils narrowed and she felt fear strike her heart. _It's now or never._

"Suleykaar, I'm sorry but I don't feel the same." She finally blurted out, and then the air completely shifted and her heart was racing hard. _Why am I getting so much adrenaline?_  "We met like, a week ago... I hardly know you. You're nice and a great dragon but... I just see you as a friend."

Fury swam within his yellow eyes and his eyes welled up with tears. "I saved your _life_ Blaze! What's wrong with me? What is it that stops you from loving me back?"

"I don't know you! You can't expect me to love someone I just met! You saved my life and I'm thankful for it but that doesn't mean I care for you like that. Can't we just be friends?" she shrunk backwards as Suleykaar opened his wings. He towered over her threateningly.

"No! I can't live that way, Blaze. I refuse to live under a leader like you." He snarled, but when he took a step forwards she panicked and swiped at his face, striking his cheek hard before darting to the side and sprinting away from him. She first planned to head for Dash, but he was occupied with somebody else.  _Oh gods, where's the group? Where's Mhica?_

They were nowhere to be seen and so she took off, soaring high above the camp and eventually the trees. He needed some time to cool off, and so did she.

 

When she was far from the Heart and deep in the forest she stopped by a river where she just sat for a little while, watching ovoid creatures make their way down through the rushing water to wherever their final destination would be. They looked frantic and she couldn't help but stick her hands into the water to see whether they would run into her due to their disorganised movements. They didn't, but she promised herself she'd feel a fish some day.

It was making her think a lot. Here alone she had nobody to focus her mind on and so it left her to many thoughts, some more distressing than others. Being on her own felt alien. Even in the arena she had her denmates to talk to but now it was all _hopeless_ and she hated it.

_What am I gonna do? I can't handle myself; I never learned how to so what do I do and what if Suleykaar finds me and-_

She slammed her claws into the water and just screamed. It was incoherent and raw, straight from the bottom of her heart (and lungs) because she felt out of control. She was angry and sad and scared and nervous and it manifested into the roars that rung out through the forest, sending creatures running and birds flying and when she saw that even the fish seemed to be avoiding her she closed her eyes and threw her head into the water.

It was cold and her shaking only grew worse, but she didn't want to lift her head. She was sick of this. _I want the world to go away and I want this to STOP; haven't I suffered enough? They'll fight Zaro without me, I've done NOTHING for them. My parents didn't even care for me. They just let him take me, I must have been such a worthless burden to them. They must hate me they must be so ashamed-_

She was growing lightheaded and her limbs felt heavy and light all at the same time. The urge to breathe was getting stronger and stronger and it hurt. Her stomach twisted.

_Wait, no, nonononono wait-_

Blaze abruptly stood, water dripping from her face as she gasped and took in a deep breath of air. She was hyperventilating and her stomach ached. Her cheeks grew hot and her body shook as her sobs slowly grew louder.

_What am I doing?_

The rushing water at her feet made her cringe and she stepped back, further and further until she hit a tree and she sat, leaning against it and staring at the river as if it were her worst enemy. Maybe it was.

_I can't._

Birds were chirping again now. They must have returned now that it was quieter. The soft songs they let out made her feel a little less alone.

_Even if they hate me I can't._

A little butterfly landed on her hand and she lifted it to look at the creature. Its wings were yellow and white and it looked as if it were glowing. A sign.

_I'm their leader. I'm their friend._

The radiant insect crawled along her fingers, perching on one of her claws. Then another landed on her hand, another on her arm, and more came until her entire arm was freckled with glowing bugs just sitting and gently flitting their wings.

_I can fix this if I just hold on. It's going to be hard, but maybe it gets harder before it gets easier. I'm gonna be okay._

When she stood, triumphantly lifting her chin and staring down bitterly at the water, the butterflies moved to dance at her shoulders where they eventually came to rest. _This is my land. I am in control. I can and will make things better._

 

It almost felt as if days had passed since she sat down at the riverside, but she knew it'd been no more than an hour. So much had changed though little had happened

Blaze gazed down at her claws once more, quietly recounting the events to herself and letting out a soft murmur of "Dear Rynn... how'd it even come to this?"

"Blaze! I've been searching everywhere for you." A familiar voice broke through the silence and she tensed. _Oh God, how much did he see? Why is he here, oh no oh God I can't deal with this alone._ She turned, trying now to shrink down or show any signs of weakness. The butterflies stirred and suddenly she felt warmth and determination flood her body, bringing her to her feet. She stared straight into Suleykaar's eyes, opening her wings threateningly.

"Get away from me. No means no." She was trying to keep her tone calm but there was venom dripping from every word. _How does a friend become an enemy over the notion of love?_

"I thought maybe you'd change your mind after the initial shock... you know I'd treat you better than anyone else ever can, Blaze." The way he spoke was _disgusting._ It made her feel filthy even though the words weren't coming from her mouth. _He was my friend. What happened?_

"I'm not interested. You can't force me to love you and I have every right to say no to you." She glared at him, expecting his logic to speak to him and agree with her, but he instead lunged at her. Her reflexes kicked in instantly and she dodged, sending him slamming into the tree behind her. Blaze really didn't want to hurt him.

Suleykaar turned, baring his teeth and letting out a low growl. "It's because of Dash, isn't it? You've hardly spoken to us since _he_ showed up. I think about you every day, Blaze... you're _perfect._ M-maybe it's my fault! It's because I'm disgusting, right? I'm not good enough am I?"

He leaped again, swiping for her chest. She stepped back far enough to narrowly avoid the hit.

"Suleykaar _please,_ I don't wanna fight you!" she jumped away from another strike. Her voice held desperation. _I just want to be his friend._ "You're obsessing! We can just be friends, _please._ I love you but not in th-"

Sharp pains interrupted her. He'd flipped around and hit her face with his tail. She threw her hands over her eyes, roaring and flaring her wings. The spines had torn hard into her skin.  _God dammit this is too far._

She threw her hands away from her eyes and drew her face up to his, grabbing him by the cheeks. He closed his mouth and she opened hers.

Scorching fire pummelled him and only when she saw his skin bubbling did she cease it. She stared at his smouldering features scornfully and she dug her claws in where they rested. She felt nothing. "Don't you _dare_ step foot in this land again."

Blaze threw Suleykaar to the ground, then left for the Heart.


	8. Learning

When Blaze returned to the Heart she tried hard to recall the location of the healers hollow. _God, this place is still so alien to me._

She drew her hand up to her face and wiped her cheek with her palm. Big mistake. The wounds were _deep_ and her thumb caught one of them. She instantly threw her hand down, letting out a roar of pain. It must have drawn attention to her because soon enough a familiar group of dragons approached her. A hand tilted her chin upwards and she stared into the eyes of Dash. He examined her wounds and Mhica glanced at her face before gasping.

"What happened? Are you okay?" her voice was full of a motherly concern and she was glancing between her and Dash anxiously.

"Suleykaar went nuts 'cos I don't return his romantic feelings." Blaze shrugged, looking Dash in the eyes. His pupils narrowed, clearly agitated, but he said nothing. "So he hit me with his tail. How's it look?"

"Nasty." The blue dragon hissed. "Deep wounds."

"It hurts a lot. Can anyone fetch a healer?" she glanced back at the dragons behind Dash. Prakem was chewing on his claws and Cronos was batting at him, trying to get him to stop. Zehrok was joining in with that situation. It felt strange to not see Suleykaar with them.

"I asked Storm to grab one after you roared. She'll be back in a moment." Dash answered, lowering his hands. "Did he hurt you anywhere else?"

"No, he caught me off guard but I didn't give him a chance after that. I..." her gaze fell to the ground. _We all liked Suleykaar. They'll hate me._  "I burned his face pretty badly and exiled him."

"Well that's what he gets for hurting you. You don't have to return his feelings, so he paid the price for his violence." Mhica piped up. Of all dragons, she expected Mhica to be the most upset, but it seemed otherwise. Before Blaze could respond, Storm returned with a red-orange dragon who was covered in feathers. The two walked closely until the dragon split away and grabbed Blaze's face. _God dammit why does everyone-_

The dragon pressed something against the wounds and she roared in pain once again, digging her claws into the dirt. "What're you doing?"

"Ah, sorry. I should've probably introduced myself. I'm Phoenix, Storm's favourite healer," she turned to give Storm an affectionate glance and then looked back to Blaze, "and she told me you had an injury. It looks pretty bad so I'm just putting in some melting sap orbs. These have Galium Omorika sap in them, which will heal an injury like yours fully in about... mmh, two days."

"Oh." Blaze frowned, then she tilted her face so that it was more accessible, heating up her scales so that the heat would somewhat override the pain. "Well you're free to proceed then. Thank you, Phoenix."

The feathered dragon continued to place a number of the orbs into her wounds as Dash and Mhica looked on, seemingly intrigued by the healing method. Blaze was in a great deal of discomfort but now she wasn't so surprised. When the job was done on both sides of her face, she was displeasingly aware of the sap melting into her wounds and it ached.

"You should probably stay here unless something important pops up. If the wounds reopen it might make the healing process longer." Phoenix advised, giving the wounds another quick examination before standing back and nodding. "If you need any help with things come find me in the healers den. It's the one with the flowers behind it."

"Alright, thank you very much. I'll let you know if I need any more help." She nodded, smiling softly and tapping her claws on the ground to distract from the strange feelings in her face. "And thank you for getting me help, Storm."

The former leader chuckled, turning to nuzzle Phoenix's cheek as the healer took a spot by her side. "It's no problem. If there's anyone you can trust with your health, it's her. Anyways, we're going to grab some food. Rynn be with you all."

Chattering happily to each other, the two dragons turned and headed off in the opposite direction. The group fell quiet.

 

"Wanna head back to the campfire?" Mhica offered, breaking through the awkward silence. Blaze glanced to the sky; it was taking on the beautiful shades that came before sunset. The land was still bright, but she reckoned it'd darken soon.

"I'm in." The fire dragon nodded, turning to Dash who seemed to be far less bitter than he was earlier. He looked between the two and then smiled.

"Yeah, I'm gonna go grab Fading Star first so I'll be there in a few minutes." He stepped away and she watched him go for a few moments before drawing her gaze back to Prakem, who seemed to just be casually chatting with Cronos and Zehrok. Mhica took off without them towards the campfire.

"Umm, cmon guys." She urged, just about gaining their attention before running to catch up with the other female.

 

Almost everyone was gathered at the campfire in a minute or so. Blaze used her breath to light it and she laid down, kicking her legs out to her side and tucking her wings in close. They were waiting on Dash and Fading Star, but already Mhica was telling stories to the others. The fire dragon wasn't paying much attention, instead watching the dancing flames. They were beautiful; licking at the air with orange and yellow tongues, rising to the air, seeking their sweet freedom. She related, in a way. Back in Night Whisper she was so close to escape but she never truly could free herself, always seemingly bound to the location like the fire was bound to the logs. Eventually, she became the ashes. Free, still burning from her past but cooling down and finally on the road to recovering from her life before.

It was odd how alike she was to the fire.

Dash and Fading Star took a seat by the fire, huddled close together. The two greeted the group with smiles and Blaze was quick to return them, though she was greatly unfamiliar with the grey dragon.

"Blaze, you look awfully brooding. How's it going?" Mhica spoke up and the attention turned.

"Oh, u-um, well I was just... thinking about the fire. It's pretty." She shrugged, and gradually she felt tingling sensations across her back and shoulders. It made her shift but she daren't look up, part of her fearing it'd be Zaro or Suleykaar.

Then a glowing white and gold butterfly sat on her hand.

_What's with these guys? It was weird earlier but this can't be a coincidence._

"You sure you're not hiding something from us?" Zehrok accused, looking at her with deep confusion in his gaze. She shot him a hard look before gazing back into the flames, feeling the small insects landing all over her back. They were sitting beside her too, surrounding her with their soft glow.

"N-no, I... I don't know what these guys are doing. They first showed up earlier before I fought Suleykaar." She didn't really want to think back to the event, but now Zehrok's enquiry had her wondering when exactly they'd showed up. It'd been in a moment of deep thought, she recalled, quite like this one. "I'm not sure why they follow me but... I kind of like them."

"Maybe they're from the gods. A symbol of hope." Fading Star suggested. _A symbol of hope? I... I don't think the gods would send me butterflies, of all things. There's probably a reason they're attracted to me._

Even though she was finding so many ways to write it off, she wanted to believe that perhaps the gods were looking out for her.

"It happened with Bleeding Rose."  Dash added, staring into the flames, seemingly entranced by the way they danced. "Fading Star taught me about Rose's tarantulas. Blue spiders sent by the God Ravynne and Rynn in one of his darkest moments as symbols of his sorrow but also as a reminder that he would be okay. Spiders create their webs and sometimes they get broken but the spider will repair them and god on. Bleeding Rose carries tarantulas now most of the time as a reminder that he'll be okay and that he can repair himself whenever he's broken. That dragon's been through a lot."

Blaze looked up at Dash, intrigued. "Why butterflies, then?"

"Butterflies represent freedom. They've been freed from their cocoons and now roam the sky as if it's their own. They represent change and courage, showing that you can make it through the different parts of your life. They show that you have grown and will continue to grow. They are symbols of hope, Blaze." He looked her in the eyes, and she smiled. Maybe the gods _were_ looking out for her.

"Thank you. That's... that's very reassuring." She chuckled before turning to smile at Mhica. "Anyway! What were you all discussing? I wasn't really paying attention..."

"We're just talking about our next steps. If Zaro isn't dead like Prakem says, we'll need a plan. Zehrok's on the aggressive but... I think we should hold out and grow in numbers until he next attacks. What do you think?" the pretty female asked her. Blaze was not exactly the best at tactics; in battle she pretty much just winged it. This was going to be challenging.

"On one hand, if we could attack and capture Zaro we'd be in danger. Our forces would be weakened, possibly far more than theirs, so if they launched an attack in retaliation we'd be screwed. There's also no guarantee of success and... honestly, I don't know a single dragon who can take down Zaro, especially if he comes back. I don't think it's a good choice. If we wait, we have more chance of staying alive. Like Mhica says, growing in numbers might be our best option." She decided, sitting up and looking over the group of dragons. All eyes were on her now. _This is what it's like to lead._ "I understand why you might want to attack, but at the moment that isn't an option I'm afraid."

Zehrok gave her a huff and he looked down. She felt bad; he always seemed to be in disagreement with her and it must have been frustrating. She didn't offer any sympathy, however. He needed to learn to deal with things when they didn't go his way. The others took no notice except Mhica, who wrapped a wing around him.

"So we just wait it out?" Zehrok asked, looking past her as if she weren't even there. She ignored it. If he was going to be difficult, she didn't want to deal with it.

"It's the safest choice we can take. I don't want to risk lives for a plan that might not even succeed." She answered, feeling responsible for once. It was odd. All of these lives were hers to protect. She didn't have to kill anyone anymore.

 

The group sat in comfortable silence for a while as the sky grew darker, the glow of the campfire the only thing illuminating their features. Blaze was growing tired and the only others awake were Dash, Fading Star and Prakem. Cronos was snuggled up beside her, sleeping comfortably under her wing. It was pitch black when finally the silence was broken.

Fading Star looked to her suddenly, his eyes reflecting the orange flames. He took on an extremely solemn expression and her breath hitched in her throat at the sight. "Do you know about the prophecy?"

Blaze looked at him with a newfound curiosity. Every time dragons mentioned this prophecy they seemed to grow deathly serious. Prakem and Dash turned their attention to the two. She hesitated; Zaro had mentioned it briefly. "I-I think Zaro said something about me being in it, and that Blazing Light died delivering it. He said that 'the world is to be brought to a halt.' Storm mentioned it too."

"I see." He paused for a moment and then he smiled softly. "Blazing Light was my good friend. The last thing he told us was 'the dragon of fire is coming' and when Zaro used his powers to look into his mind before he died, he was enraged. When he found you, he called a meeting among the leaders to announce that it was game over. If you're the dragon of the prophecy, it means the gods are watching over you. They're guiding you, Blaze. Things aren't going to be easy but I hope you know that we are backing you every step of the way."

 

Fading Star's sudden kindness took her by surprise. She didn't take him for the kind to speak that way but she appreciated it greatly. No wonder Dash seemed to like him so much; he seemed to be a very sweet dragon. Blaze returned his smile with one of her own. "Thank you. That really means a lot to me. I was honestly terrified of leading and I still am deep down but having such wonderful supporters is incredible to me."

"Of course." Fading Star nodded to her, his gaze softening a little now. "I believe in you, Blaze. Everyone here does. Do us proud."

"I'll do everything I can for you all. I won't let you down." She promised, meeting his eyes with a deep sincerity. Part of her felt obligated, the other absolutely determined to serve her faction and end Zaro's tyranny.

"You'd best get some sleep then." Dash chuckled, gaze kind as always. "You too, Prakem. It's late. A lot has happened today."

"I'll fall asleep after all of you." Blaze got comfortable, feeling a motherly instinct wash over her. She wanted to protect these dragons at all costs. She didn't need to kill them anymore; she could protect them this time.

 

One by one the group dropped off. She glanced over them all before she too resigned, letting herself rest at last. Her family. They were her family.

 

Tall green trees swayed gently as Blaze slept at last. The butterflies stirred before taking flight, flying far into the night. Everything was calm: grass danced in a light breeze; the chilly air softened, silent; the beautiful dark sky of Murquah was littered with glittering stars and brightened by the moons that cast light down onto the land.

Down here, things were peaceful. In Blaze's mind, they were not.

 

Roll left, swipe right, catch his cheek and growl. She'd memorised the entire dream over and over. Her heart was pounding heavy in her chest and adrenaline coursed through her veins. A deep sorrow was burrowed securely into her chest but her head was clouded with just rage. It was uncontrollable and deadly and Zaro had found the perfect way to draw it to the surface just when he wanted it most.

The dark orange dragon didn't even stand a chance. He hadn't tried to fight back, he'd just cowered behind his big blood-red brother until her dodge left him exposed and she quickly slit his throat. Blaze watched him fall blankly. The larger dragon saw what she'd done and he let out a cry of pure agony from deep within his chest, but she still felt nothing. Not even determination shone through her eyes.

She turned to the bigger dragon, seeing he was distracted and taking advantage of it without hesitation. She lunged for him, latching her claws onto the sides of his neck. He roared, thrashing and then whacking her with enough force to send her across the pit. She rolled to her feet, snarling and staring at him.

 

The two just stared for a few moments before the dragon charged head-on at Blaze. Bad move. She opened her jaws, caught his throat in her teeth and clamped down immediately. He tried to roar again but it came out as a vile gargle as the blood spluttered through his mouth and in his lungs, blocking his windpipe.

 

Victorious cheers erupted from the crowd and her feelings slowly returned to her, the eyes once glazed over now tearing up. Her stomach flipped as she stared down at the dragons dead in the arena.

_What have I done?_

Sear's eyes were tightly shut, his expression soft despite how horrible his death must have been. Her heart ached and guilt wracked her body. Then she saw Scorch.

_Oh my God._

His mouth hung open, the scarlet liquid draining from his jugular and spilling from his jaws. His eyes burned with vengeance and betrayal. _That's my fault._

She stared in Zaro's direction and met his crimson gaze but she didn't see the stare of a dragon any longer. They were pools of blood that he'd caused others to spill, and pools he'd spilled himself.

 

That was when she awoke, the sky still black with all its glowing white freckles staring down at her red scales. Blaze was speechless, horrified by the dream she'd been through far too many times. Scorch and Sear hadn't deserved a single thing that happened to them and despite every single effort she'd made to push their very existences to the back of her mind it never failed to haunt her.

She made an effort to get some more rest after that, and when she finally slipped into a softer sleep she wasn't plagued by the nightmares any longer.


	9. Summoning

Sunrise came with a golden-orange glow, stretching out across the formerly black-blue sky and melting into pinks and purples as it rose. Blaze was, as per usual, awake soon enough to see the glory of the finest morning hours and she nudged Cronos awake so he could see the colours shining down on the land. Rays of sunlight were gradually crawling towards them, illuminating the grass in its soft orange hues. She felt him stir and he grumbled for a moment before sitting up beside her.

"Is something wrong?" he reached up with his wings to rub his eyes, looking towards her with concern.

"Cronos, I woke you up to watch the sunrise." She answered gently, pointing up to where she was looking. He followed her gaze - she watched him from the corner of her eye - and then he tilted his head slightly. A flock of red birds flew overhead and their rhythmic chirps filled the air with song. Cronos seemed to be enjoying the sight, his gaze filled with wonder, and she instantly felt her heart brighten, glad she'd awoken him.

Saying nothing, the two dragons admired the colours, ever changing as time passed. Everything gradually lightened until the sky became its usual blue, streaked with aqua and teal and soft white clouds. One by one, the dragons in the group stirred, and as they stretched she noticed Prakem seemed rather distressed, but she decided to address it later.

 

Light murmurs arose from everyone and eventually Cronos joined them, turning to Blaze.

"Thank you for waking me up-" he spoke with a smile, then as he turned to look to the other side of them he was startled. "Dear Rynn, don't do that."

Blaze quickly regarded his fright and then she found her words, stuttering in surprise. "Storm, Phoenix. Uh, how'd your night go?"

The healer let out a small laugh whilst Storm just looked away as she replied. "It went well, thank you. How did you all sleep?"

"I think we all slept through. I woke up once but everyone else seemed to be doing well." She glanced once more to Prakem. He was speaking to Mhica, his voice hushed, but he seemed far less tense than when he'd first awoken. "I'm glad you two had a good night."

"Ah, yes. Anywho, I'd best get down to business." She tilted her head down, her amber eyes darkening. "There's a dragon here to speak to you. They claim they're from Night Whisper; they asked for me, then I informed them I'd stepped down and they were to speak with you."

 

Blaze froze. _This can't be good. Zaro can't have anything good to say, surely._

"Dash, Storm, Fading Star." She looked over them each in turn, taking a deep breath to calm her nerves. The blue dragon acknowledged her with a nod, looking her way with his striking yellow eyes. Storm tilted her head gently and Fading Star gave her a curious gaze. "I want you to hear this. Come with me."

The three stood, and so did she. "Where are they?"

Storm cleared her throat, licking Phoenix's cheek gently in a gesture of affection. "I told him to wait by the entrance and left him with Link."

"Alright. You guys should get some breakfast; I'll update you soon." Blaze turned to the rest of the group, her eyes soft, and then she made her way with her companions to the entrance of the Heart. Staring back at the darkness of the passageway leading out to the forest, a dark blue dragon was lashing their tail impatiently. It only took a moment for them to notice the four dragons. They gasped, covered their mouth and they dipped their head in respect.

 

"Um, I have a message for the leader. It's urgent and it's from Zaro." They stated, drawing their limbs close. _They must be nervous._

"I'm Blaze, the leader of Blazing Light. These are my advisors, Dash and Storm, and Fading Star is here to hear what you have to say too." The fire dragon spread her wings just slightly out of habit, standing tall and fighting back her anxieties. "Follow me."

In reality, she had absolutely no idea what was within the leader's hollow nor did she really know how to get in there, but she had to stand tall and prove herself. She couldn't show any fear to this stranger, no matter what happened. Her company would have her back either way; she had no reason to be scared.

 

On the way to the hollow she noticed the curious gazes of Blazing Light dragons following the small group, but she paid them no mind - their intrigue was inevitable. Finally, the tree was at her feet and she gazed down uncertainly at the path. Blaze stepped inside, gazing down the dark pathway ahead. She almost tripped over a lantern on the ground, but instead she lifted it, rearing to walk on her hind legs and unlatching the door to blow a tiny puff of fire to the candle.

When she closed the latch again she ventured forth, holding the lantern in front of her face and starting down the passage. The sound of feet behind her kept her reassured that she was safe and she came across two doorways. _Dear Rynn, this place must be huge._

One lead to a library, the other a room with a pillowed floor and a table. It looked perfect for a meeting, so she turned and set the lantern down on the table, taking a seat at the head of the table, facing the door. The others followed, Storm and Dash taking up the seats beside her. Fading Star was next, and then the stranger took an uncertain seat beside Storm.

 

"What is it you've been sent to tell us?" Blaze enquired, shuffling a little in her place and resting her hands on the table, looking at the dragon with an unintentionally cold glare.

Eyes refusing to meet hers, the visitor fidgeted with their claws. "I'm Lapis, j-just a hunter from Night Whisper - Zaro wants to call a meeting."

Surprise rippled through the four dragons and Storm quickly turned to her. "This can't be anything good."

"It could be a trap. We need to consider that he's a crafty dragon, he'd absolutely call an 'important meeting' just to kill somebody." Dash piped up, clearly not keen on the idea at all. His tone was sterner than she was used to.

"If it's any reassurance, he's sent dragons out to all the other factions too. It's a meeting between the leaders and any advisors they want to bring along." Lapis seemed quick to want to reassure them which made her a little uneasy, but she understood that he wouldn't want to displease Zaro. A curiosity in her also piqued; _how many other leaders and advisors are there?_

As if reading her mind, Fading Star spoke up. "You wouldn't know them yet, but there's five factions other than Blazing Light and Night Whisper. They're called Bleeding Rose, Thorn Mist, Cold Sun, Twisted Shadow and of course Fading Star, my faction. Meeting their leaders might be beneficial to you."

_Dear Rynn, so there's seven big groups of dragons who may or may not share similar mindsets with Zaro. This is going to be absolutely fantastic isn't it?_

"What's this meeting about?" the former leader looked again to Lapis, her gaze glazed over with skepticism.

"I don't know. He didn't say much, he just said it'd be a beginning of something important." He responded, finally looking up to her with a blue gaze the colour of Dash's scales. "He told me that no blood would be spilled. Not yet."

Of course he'd say something like _that._ Zaro had a certain affection for being ominous, though she still knew it could be a lie. They certainly had to be wary.

"I'm willing to go but I want to bring company." She decided, turning to Fading Star. "Will you be going too?"

"I'll go with you." He answered after a moment of hesitance. _I don't blame him. I wouldn't want to be near Zaro either. But it must be done._

"He said company was fine!" Lapis nodded slowly. "He wants the meeting to be after sunrise in the crystal cave tomorrow, so you'll have to leave at midnight - Fading Star knows where that is. There wasn't much specific other than that."

"Storm, Dash, will you go with us?" Blaze turned to the two, not letting her desperation seep through into her gaze nor her words. _I can't go alone._

"It's best you take just Dash." Storm shook her head. "Someone needs to stay to watch over the rest of the faction whilst you're gone. I know how to run a faction, I think it's best if you leave me behind."

She thought for a moment, tapping her claws against the table. _She's right, but I might not be wise enough to make any serious decisions. Dash doesn't seem to have any experience in leadership._

"What if an important decision has to be made? Storm, I-I don't think I've been general long enough to make informed choices. If I pick the wrong one it could put us into a really bad position." Blaze's panic was shining through into her tone now, but the other female stood her ground.

"No. I trust you. Fading Star will help you if need be, but you are the general of Blazing Light and you will have to see to important choices in the future. This is something you need to learn yourself." Voice stern, the dark female refused once more. Blaze was frustrated but she didn't argue any further, sitting back with a sigh.

The fire dragon didn't look up as she spoke again. "Okay, fine. Dash?"

"I'll go with you, but I think it'd be wise to bring some more dragons with us, those who we can trust. If this goes South we'll need all the help we can get." Dash suggested, turning to Fading Star. "I can't bring Bolt. Do you have anybody in mind who can assist us?"

Fading Star thought for a moment, then he sighed. "No. This could be extremely confidential. I don't want our matters to be spread to those who don't need to know."

_We could take Mhica. She'd be able to offer an empathetic outlook thanks to her motherly nature. No, these matters don't need to concern her. She's got enough on her hands. Prakem... no, apparently he's had it really hard from Zaro, that would be bad. Who would be able to have good input and keep their mouth shut about this? Cronos is too sensitive and insecure. Zehrok is aggressive..._

_Aggressive. But he has ideas. He has views that none of us can offer... perfect._

"Zehrok. We're taking him." Blaze decided, sitting up straight. Admittedly, she hadn't been kind to Zehrok and it wasn't his fault, so hopefully this would show him she didn't hate him. It would also be a brilliant tactical move.

"Are you sure?" Storm seemed shocked by the notion. "He seems a bit... boisterous."

She nodded, looking the other in the eyes confidently.  "It's perfect. He has a certain mindset that might be able to help us, especially when it comes to Zaro. In fact, he might be able to be on a similar level to Zaro, so it's good he's on our side. He's perfect."

"Blaze makes a good point." Dash smiled, and then he turned to Lapis. "He might have some valuable input."

Storm nodded, then she stood. "We'd best inform him as soon as possible. Does anybody else have anything of importance to say?"

Everyone was silent and when she was certain all had been said, Blaze got to her feet. "That'll be all then. Thank you for delivering this message, Lapis."

The Night Whisper dragon dipped his head, then the group stood. She clutched the lantern and lead the way out of the hollow to speak to Zehrok.

 

Storm left them to go get some food quickly and the others approached the group, Lapis following behind with no idea where else to go. Cronos and Prakem were missing from the little campfire, so she assumed they'd also gone to get food since it was still pretty early. Mhica and Zehrok were talking softly, and for the first time Blaze took account of his appearance. His scales were black with orbs the colour of sunsets running across the side of his body. His eyes were one colour and one colour alone, a dead and dull blue. He had no horns, nothing like the average dragon at least. There was no exposed bone there, it just appeared to be an extension of his skull that happened to still be covered by scales. He was rather intimidating now she thought about it.

He noticed Blaze examining him and his eyes glazed over with a dark haze. She hesitated for a moment, fearful that he'd lash out, but she forced herself onwards, stepping right up to him and looking up at his face.

"I have something important to ask of you." She stated, not allowing her voice to falter at all.

Zehrok glanced at Mhica and then back to the fire dragon, reaching up to rub the back of his neck gently. "Fine. What do you want?"

"I need you to come to a meeting with me. I was thinking about who I should bring and I figured you'd be able to offer a fresh stance on whatever Zaro may say." She almost laughed when she saw the surprise on his face. _I suppose I wouldn't have expected it either._

"Why should I help you?" he spat, his glare only hardening. Blaze's demeanour completely changed and she flinched, frowning and stepping back. _I can't give in. I'm his general now._

"This is an important meeting. It's a privilege to even be _considered_ to attend something like this. You could possibly change the outcome of this scenario. You could save dragons, you could make a choice that influences the future of this entire faction." She argued, trying not to snap. _Be mature. You need to show you're not a damn pushover._

"Well you've been nothing but bad to me! You should make the decisions yourself if they're so important. You're the one in charge, not me." Zehrok wasn't giving in. _God dammit, he could've turned the tables! If something goes wrong that he could've changed then I'm going to char his face like I charred Suleykaar's._

_No. No that's too far, I'm letting my anger get to me._

"Fine, have it your way." She gave in, turning around. She figured she might as well go eat and then hunt or something; she was being pretty useless.

"Zehrok, I think Blaze wants to make things right between you two. You should consider this." Mhica's soft voice made Blaze stop in her tracks. She turned to face the kind female, blinking in confusion. _She's calmed him down before but I didn't expect her to urge him... this could really go badly._

"I-I..." the black dragon was taken aback, staring at the motherly dragon, confused.

"You've both been bad to each other. Don't pin all that on Blaze. She's making an effort, now make one for her." The white-scaled female insisted, pressing her forehead to Zehrok's gently.

She shook her head, not wanting this to cause any further conflict. "Mhica, don't pressure him-"

"Fine, count me in Blaze. On my own accord. I'm not being pressured." The male snapped, turning to stare once again at Blaze. "What time is it?"

"We'll have to leave at midnight." She replied meekly, figuring he probably wouldn't be all too pleased by that either. However, he simply nodded.

"Alright. I assume you'll be waking us up; we'd best sleep early tonight then. I'll send Dash to wake you up." He paused for a heartbeat and then he awkwardly cast his gaze down. "I'm sorry for how I treated you."

"No, I should be sorry." Blaze stepped closer to him again, meeting his eyes and smiling softly. "Let's set things back on track."

The black dragon let out a soft chuckle, then he pulled Blaze into a surprisingly soft hug. "Thank you."

Already shocked that Zehrok would even consider giving someone a hug, she was in shock when the one he hugged was her. She returned it, and when they parted a small laugh was exchanged before he returned to conversation with Mhica.

 

When she returned to the company of Dash and Fading Star, they seemed equally as astonished by the events that had just unfolded. It'd escalated quickly but she was glad the exchange had happened. Now there were two others able to accompany them to the meeting, securing some form of protection in the case things went badly.

Blaze tilted her head at the sight of Lapis, having forgotten the blue dragon was even there in the first place. She paused for a moment, considering the options from here. _I'm Blazing Light's general... I should probably organise border patrols. They might as well take Lapis back with them to Night Whisper's border._

"Fading Star. I assume you have experience in organising border patrols." She didn't take her eyes from the Night Whisper dragon, wondering if she'd ever seen him before. He kept taking nervous glances at her as if he were afraid. _I don't blame him._

"Of course. I'll go organise some hunting parties with my dragons in the meantime. You should send five dragons out to the borders and four groups. Dash, prepare equipment and supplies for our journey tonight." Fading Star's assertiveness was unexpected; he always presented as a rather timid dragon. The way he commanded Dash oozed authority, but not a threatening kind.

_If I'm to lead this faction, I must learn to command others like that._

 

Blaze waited for the others to head off to their assigned duties before she looked around the Heart, thinking to herself about the options at hand until she spotted a familiar dragon. He was standing and smiling at a group of dragons, his muscled figure standing out amongst his more lithe peers. If anyone could help her organise patrols, it would be him.

_Fading Star will be sending off his dragons to hunt but maybe the border patrol should also take some bags in case they feel like hunting on the way._

She found her way across the clearing, keeping her head low, though for once she noticed nobody was looking at her as if she were an outcast. In Night Whisper, she'd been treated as if she were some sort of strange and exotic creature to be gawked at. Here, barely anybody even looked her way. It was nice feeling so normal for once, like she _belonged._

 

Link acknowledged her with a warm smile, turning to her after he finished his story. "Hey Blaze! What can I do for you?"

"I need to organise some border patrols. I was wondering whether you could give me any help." She answered, though she didn't return the smile. Whilst she did forgive him, a bitterness still possessed her over the spy incident.

"Sure. I can point you to the best patrollers I know." The dragon stood, taking hugs from the dragons in the group and saying some goodbyes before he joined her to start their duties.

 

It hadn't taken long for the patrols to be put together and seeing Link go about communicating with the dragons had taught her a thing or two about Blazing Light's members. These dragons had a brotherhood of sorts and were willing to carry out tasks without argument or hesitance. Atlantis had been particularly memorable; he'd apparently been on many patrols and was a brilliant commander, having been considered for the role of lieutenant after Venom's death. He seemed like a dragon she could trust in the future and so she kept him in mind.

 

It was still early and she didn't particularly want to go out into the forest so she found her way back inside the general's hollow with the lantern. She needed to get used to it since it was hers now. Exploring the hollow revealed to her two new rooms. Opposite the meeting room was a living room and the last two passageways lead to the place she'd be staying and a large storage area. _This could be handy. Could store some weapons in here, maybe some medkits._

She explored a little, wiping dust and cobwebs from the untouched shelves. There were chests and cupboards, a few bookshelves too which were filled to the brim with all kinds of fiction and nonfiction works and a couple scrolls. The chests and cupboards had all sorts of weapons and armour as well as a few trinkets.

One of these trinkets was an onyx necklace adorned with amethysts in perfect condition apart from a few nicks here and there in the onyx. She turned it over, looking at the inside of the necklace where there appeared to be letters engraved carefully in what could have only been a lengthy and meticulous process. The letters had been painted in white, all capitals.  _Nightborn. What does that mean?_

She moved to put it on, then she hesitated. Her stomach dropped and her eyes darted around the room, suddenly feeling a thick, choking atmosphere settle in the room. The closer she brought the object to her body the worse she felt, swearing she could feel vomit rising up her throat. Blaze swiftly put the object back in the chest and decided this had been enough browsing. _I... should probably leave it alone. Maybe some of the others know something about it... I should return it to its owner._

Uncomfortable despite putting the necklace down, she hurried out and towards the bedroom, clearing her throat and trying to shake off the feeling. Thankfully, there was plenty to distract her in the next area. A large collection of comfortable pillows were set out, clearly meant for a dragon larger than her, with a large fur throw which looked extremely cozy. In the centre of the roof sat a chandelier which she quickly blew a puff of fire at to light the candles. The room lit up and she put out the lantern, more satisfied with the lighting like this. She soon settled down into the pillows, under the thick blanket, pleased by how soft everything was.

_I'd best get some sleep. Tonight is going to be a long night._

Just like that, she let herself melt into the sweet embrace of sleep.


	10. Meeting

"Blaze!"

Beneath her claws was the bleeding throat of a blue-black dragon, desperation in their eyes. _How do they know my name?_

Writhing, the dragon tried to free themselves from her claws. Blaze only dug her claws in deeper. _I need this to stop._

"Blaze?"

Why weren't they gargling? In this part the dragon was choking on their own blood, mouth agape and brows raised. She felt nothing.

"Oh my- BLAZE!"

 

Pain shot through her shoulder and quickly everything around her faded into darkness and then back out to reality. When she sat up abruptly, the dragon before her let out a cry and she panicked, thinking it was the blue-black fellow from her dream until her eyes focused upon the stormy scales of the former general. Blaze didn't notice she was panting until she saw the perplexed expression that came over Storm. Quickly, she calmed her breathing and met the other's eyes.

"S-sorry." Blaze cleared her throat and reached to push the still growing hairs into a neater position than they were. "Um, is it time?"

"Yeah. Your company is waiting at the entrance for you." Storm nodded, her spiked tail lashing gently from side to side. "Anything you want me to do whilst you're away?"

"I need a bag. Could you also ah... arrange an emergency search and rescue party? If this goes badly, we're gonna need some help." Blaze stretched her limbs, bringing herself to stand. "I want Atlantis on that team if that's okay. He's on patrol right now but he'll be back by the time we arrive at the meeting. If it goes wrong I'll send a blast of fire into the sky."

"Sounds good to me." The former general hurried to the storage room and returned with a bag like Blaze had asked. Blaze strapped it onto her side and smiled to Storm.

"That's all then, thank you." She watched as the other dragon left and then made for the storage room. She opened the chest and immediately fetched the necklace, ignoring the uncomfortable feeling it gave her and stuffing it into the bag. _I'm going to get rid of this thing. It doesn't belong here._

Swiftly she made her way from the hollow out to the waiting dragons she'd be travelling with.

 

* * *

 

 

Journeying to the crystal cave with Fading Star ahead of them actually hadn't been as eventful as she expected. They'd seen no interruptions or threats along the way and it made plenty room for conversation. They said goodbye to Lapis and he wished them well on their journey, telling them there wasn't long to their destination. Whilst Zehrok spoke to Fading Star, Dash had approached Blaze with a soft smile.

"Hey, you nervous?" his tone was soft and sincerely concerned about her feelings and she hesitated. _Why does he even care so much about me?_

"Yeah. Zaro scares me. I don't trust him at all." She shook her head, not wanting to delve into her backstory with him all that much, but clearly fate had other things in mind because the next thing Dash mentioned was just that.

"I was talking to Mhica about it. She was a pit fighter too apparently, and she told me a lot about everything that happened. Zaro was real mean to you guys. I'm sorry you all had to go through that." He kept his eyes on the path ahead as he spoke but sympathy leaked into his tone. "We'll keep you safe, though. I won't let him hurt you again."

Blaze hesitated, then she looked at him with a suddenly perplexed gaze. "Why do you care? I don't mean to be rude, I really appreciate it, but it's strange. You showed up one day and you've been acting as if we've known each other since the beginning of time. But _why?_ Again, I don't want to be rude to you I'm just... confused, is all."

"Something in my head is telling me I need to stay by your side." He replied immediately, not even questioning what had been said as if he'd been expecting it. "I trust in myself, because at the end of the day I'm the only one who knows what's best for me. I've lived like this my whole life. I felt I should leave my family, so I left. I felt I should stay with Bolt, so I stayed. Then I dedicated my life to Fading Star, but this is important. Zaro is a threat and I have a chance to help stop him. I believe you are this chance."

Thinking over the information he'd just shared, she fell silent. She didn't know why she'd been hoping it'd be more than just Zaro, but she pushed back that ounce of disappointment and replaced it with relief. _At least he has a motive and isn't just being a creep, I guess._ Her eyes wandered to her companion, but she couldn't bring herself to be upset. She'd do the same in his position.

"I see." Solemn now, the two continued upon their path, quiet until the group approached the mouth of the cave.

 

Tension suddenly began to arise in the air as the group made their way forth.

Despite being alert and on edge, Blaze was in awe. Crystals jutted from the walls of the spacious cave, softly glowing blue. A pool sat in the very centre of the area and within the water was a large crystal that illuminated the entire space with its blue light. It was distracting and the more she stared at it the more it hurt her head. When her brain began to buzz, she looked away and instead observed the dragons waiting at the very back of the cave.

First she saw a sandy-coloured dragon with feathered wings and a dark brown stripe across his sides. His body was lined with white strikes. His face appeared very skeletal and was orange with lines of blue and white. The feathers upon his tail and wings were brown and adorned with white zigzags much alike a hawk or falcon and when he turned his head to Blaze she saw the ramlike horns protruding from his head more clearly. She smiled to him and he returned it before looking back to a dragon at his side.

This one had black and white antlers with a blood red body. His tail looked as though he'd been mixed and matched with different pieces of a white and black dragon, like someone had rearranged the tail to create a new banded design. His wings were the same and only his body didn't have these stripes. For a moment she thought his yellow eye was bleeding, but it seemed to be yet another marking. Then she realised something: his body was dotted with red roses. His other eye was no more thanks to one of these flowers and Blaze was quite honestly amazed. Never had she met a dragon who had sprouted plants upon their own body.

Beside him sat a mauve dragon who appeared to be covered in tiny thorns and sharp scales. His body glimmered and a single stripe of an eggplant purple ran along his sides. He had many horns and spikes and even his wings looked as if they would rip you to shreds at a single touch.

Opposite them sat a two-headed dragon. One half of his body was dark grey and the other light and he stared at her with dark eyes as well as confusion. Zaro was sitting at his side, slightly healed wounds covering his scales - from the battle, she assumed - and as soon as he set his red eyes upon his former fighter he scowled, letting out a soft growl.

"Where is Storm?" his tone was venom and his eyes were fire. Blaze shuddered but she knew she had to stand for herself, and so she gulped and stepped forth to stand beside Fading Star.

"She passed leadership to me. I'm leader of Blazing Light now, so it's only appropriate that I show up to this meeting." At her announcement, a grumble of surprise came from the two-headed dragon and Zaro squinted.

"Fading Star, is this true?" the black dragon enquired skeptically, drumming his fingers against the ground. She examined the ripped flesh and cuts all over him and frowned. Never had she seen him in such a state.

The frail grey dragon nodded, moving to take up a spot at the very back of the cave opposite the main crystal. Blaze followed and so did Dash and Zehrok. _I'm the only one who's brought any company. These guys must all be more experienced than me. They probably think I'm pathetic._

"Now that everybody is here, I would like to discuss something very important." Zaro swiftly returned to his usual smirking self and he looked across the gathered dragons. "But before we get to that, what's in your bag, Blaze?"

 _He thinks I've brought something dangerous. Maybe I have._ She looked at the bag and reached in to retrieve the necklace. "I found this. I wanted to know if it belongs to any of you."

Dash was quick to interject and he shot forth, grabbing the necklace in his hands. "What the- where did you get this?"

"It was in a chest." She answered, watching as her companion ran his claws along the necklace. The others seemed deeply confused.

"This is dangerous. I-I need to keep this." He quickly put it on and slunk back behind her and nobody else said a word. An awkward silence settled over them before Zaro cleared his throat again and grinned.

"Well! Let's get back to business now that's out of the way." He wrapped a wing around the two-headed dragon, sitting up straight. Only then did Blaze realise how truly giant the black dragon was. He stood at ten foot at least, three feet taller than most dragons, and he stood even taller when he was on his hind legs. "First of all, I'd like to announce I'm closing down my arena and offering all dragons to you guys! Isn't that just fantastic? And even better, I've brought them here with me for you all to choose who you're taking home!"

With that, Zaro turned to the entrance, let out a quiet roar, and smiled as a group of dragons were pushed into the cave by a guard. _This is strange. Why would he do this? He'd be giving us an advantage. These dragons might be spies._ Zehrok apparently didn't even have the thought cross his mind however, as within a few moments of them walking in he stood and stared in shock. "Gloria."

The dragon who responded was one of the six-legged dragons she'd fought in the arena. She had peach skin with large spots of red along her body. Her three eyes widened and she approached Zehrok. "I missed you."

"I missed you too. I-I can't believe you're here." He was shocked but he moved forwards quickly to wrap his arms around her. She returned the hug and the two remained there for a moment before Zaro interrupted.

"So I assume you'll be taking Gloria! Lovely, the rest of you can take your picks. These dragons are brilliant fighters~" he cooed and soon enough each leader had a dragon at their side. Whilst Zehrok's reaction was touching, she wasn't sure what this dragon could offer to them. If it were up to her, she would have gone for the muscular green fighter, but now she had no choice in it. _I hope I don't regret bringing Zehrok here._ "Now that you've all got your new buddies, I think it's time for the main event."

 

Suddenly Zaro got to his feet, pacing in front of them from side to side in front of the crystal. The light glowed behind him, but instead of beautiful it seemed so sinister when painted upon his ruined black scales. "I think it's about time for change. For so long we have been living the same routine. Defending territory, fighting with one another when we disagree. We're not in harmony. Wouldn't it be so much better if we all lived as one nation instead of spending all this time battling each other?"

Blaze considered it. Was he actually making a change? Did that near-death experience actually give him a new take on life? _This is strange. First he stops running his arena, now he's talking of it being better in unity. Does he actually mean what he's saying?_

She was buying it. This sounded good. The others were nodding their heads and Zaro gave a small smile, stopping and spreading his wings, the blue glow surrounding him as if he were a holy spirit. "Then let us work together. We could rule _together._ A council, I propose. We'd all be at the head of these dragons and we'd make the land a better place together. Instead of ruling individually, we'd be able to put together all our ideas and strengths to make the best possible place for dragons to live."

 _I think he's actually coming around to the idea of peace. This is... nice._ Blaze smiled. "I like the sound of that - I think together we'd be able to create a very good environment. We could focus research on things like exploration too. Maybe we could even explore Lurquah."

The blood red dragon with the black and white bands was next to speak up. "Murquah would absolutely thrive. Zaro, I... I really like this new direction you're taking. I'll gladly follow you."

A murmur of approval arose from the crowd, and every dragon but Zehrok seemed to be liking the idea. He quickly made his opinion clear. "You must all be losing your minds. Sorry Zaro, and I really do like the sound of that, I do, but I don't trust you. You're manipulative and I don't think you intend to follow that out at all. You're a power-hungry dictator. I can see through this easily. I know the standpoint you're coming from. If I wanted to rule Murquah, I'd do the exact same; convince everyone I'm not into the whole war and fighting thing anymore, make a gesture to show that, then propose an idea that everyone will agree with. I don't even want to hear the next thing you want to say. You're lying through your teeth."

 

Everyone was silent when Zehrok spoke, and Blaze reevaluated the entire situation immediately. _Maybe Zehrok is just being paranoid, but maybe we should give it a chance and kill Zaro if he does anything... no, we'd be giving him so much power._

The sandy dragon suddenly stood, baring his teeth. "How could we be so blind? And to think we almost believed you... Zaro, you are despicable."

Blaze's heart was racing. Insulting Zaro was the first step to getting murdered. _We're all gonna die here._

"I think you're all being a little harsh." The right head of the half-and-half dragon spoke up with a hiss. _He's so snakelike._ "Zaro has thought about this for a long time now, you should relax a little~"

Zaro interrupted his companion quickly with a flick of his tail. "Twisted Shadow, there's no need. If they won't do this the nice way, then we'll just have to take plan B. Since you won't cooperate, I'm declaring war."

Blaze immediately stood, baring her teeth. "You're out of your mind!"

"Oh Blaze, am _I_ the one who's out of their mind?" he snarled, creeping towards her slowly. The sandy coloured dragon quickly jumped in front of her, standing on his hind legs and staring Zaro down.

"You're going to ruin Murquah. We won't let you win this." He spread his feathered wings, blocking her view of the big black dragon. She did, however, have the time to turn to Zehrok and Dash.

"We need to get out of here." She whispered, moving closer to them and evaluating the quickest way to get out of the cave without going past Zaro. The left seemed to be their best bet as it was clear from him or Twisted Shadow.

The violent male was still growling, but he seemed to stop his advance. "I assume we're going to be enemies. So who's fighting with me other than Twisted Shadow? Thorn Mist, surely you're with me?"

Blaze held her breath. _This is where I find out my allies and my rivals._

"I'm on your side, Zaro." The thorny dragon was quick to respond and the fire dragon shuddered at the thought of facing him in battle. _He looks so dangerous._

It was the desert-coloured dragon who spoke next, moving to stand beside Blaze. "I'm with Blazing Light and Fading Star. Bleeding Rose, are you joining us?"

Bleeding Rose, the blood-red dragon, shook his head. "I'm joining neither side, Cold Sun. We're still recovering from civil war, I can't join this fight."

Cold Sun held his breath, then he moved to look Bleeding Rose in the eyes. They shared a glance that Blaze couldn't quite work out and then Zaro lunged for them.

 

Blaze swiftly took off, making for the exit. She just about outran the snapping jaws of one of Twisted Shadow's heads and once she was outside she clambered to the highest point she could get to atop the cave and blasted a hot burst of fire into the morning sky.

 

It didn't take long for a large group of dragons to barrel through the underbrush. At the head of the party was Atlantis, who swiftly made his way into the cave and dragged Twisted Shadow out with him. Zaro followed, rolling in a ball of rage with Cold Sun. The two were snapping at each other and letting out roars, fighting for the upper hand. The rest of the dragons quickly ran from within the cave. Fading Star was clearly panicked but was still kicking and clawing at Thorn Mist.

Dash ran towards Blaze, quickly looking her over before grabbing her by the shoulders. "We need to get out of here."

"Not until Zaro and Twisted Shadow back down. I'm not leaving my dragons or my allies here." She shook her head, turning back to the fight. Atlantis was at a disadvantage fighting a two-headed dragon, but Cold Sun was fighting Zaro alone and Fading Star was even more vulnerable fighting a clearly dangerous dragon when he was so frail. She remembered what happened last time she fought the mighty night, so swiftly she threw herself at Twisted Shadow, deeming him the most unfair one-on-one fight.

It was a mess of tooth and claw until with one hand Twisted Shadow pinned her by the throat, pressing down. Black dotted her vision and she felt an ache building until Atlantis' jaws clamped down on the aggressor's wrist, causing his grip to loosen. Blaze gave an appreciative nod to her companion before jumping to claw at the enemy's sides. With a shriek from both heads, he shook the two off and spread his wings, turning tail and bolting for the trees. Fading Star's opponent also took flight at this, clearly judging the battle unfair.

"Thank you." She panted to Atlantis, and he smiled in return before they all turned their attention back to Zaro. The black dragon seemed to have little awareness of his ally's escape and now had Cold Sun pinned, dragging his claws down his opponent's chest.

Blaze roared and rammed into Zaro's side, causing him to fall to his side, freeing Cold Sun. _Dear Rynn, I'm fighting him again. Please don't let this end the way I think it's going to. I can't back down. I need to face up to Zaro._

The black dragon pulled himself back up, towering two feet above her, his red eyes staring her down menacingly, but she refused to back down. They circled each other, waiting for someone to make the first move, until Zaro grew impatient and snapped at her. Blaze saw it coming and dodged, focusing completely on the battle. _I need to act like this is the arena. This isn't Zaro, it's just another opponent._

Her heart stopped racing and she took a deep breath, letting all emotion slip from her body. Her mind cleared itself. With a snarl, she resumed their circling, staring straight back at him blankly. "I'm ready, Zaro. Are you?"

Something about those words ticked off the large dragon and he attempted to shred her face with both his hands but she dodged it, his claws just about scraping one of her cheeks. She bit into his neck, holding on tight and squeezing down. Zaro let out a rumbling roar and reached back to pull at her, but it only caused her to tear into his flesh faster. That was when Dash joined the fight, then Atlantis and his troop of dragons until all of Zaro was covered in wounds. Eventually, the black dragon shook everyone off and backed away, giving a pained but vicious glare, panting loud.

"This isn't over. I'll have you begging for mercy."

 

Just like that, the not-so-mighty night backed into the trees and disappeared.

Blaze had been flung to the ground when Zaro had finally pried her from his neck, and only now was she getting to her feet, eyes wide open. _We just fought Zaro and won without a single loss. This is incredible._

When she turned to the rest of the group, her eyes regarded the former pit fighters with sympathy and understanding. They hadn't attempted to join in the fight and she didn't blame them. She then moved to stand before Cold Sun. He was still watching the trees at first, but quickly lowered his gaze to her as she spoke.

"I'm proud to be your ally, Cold Sun."

Taken aback, he hesitated, but quickly smiled at her words and nodded. "I'm proud to be yours too, Blaze. Now we should probably head back home. We're far down south from Blazing Light territory. Communication might be difficult from so far away."

That was something Blaze hadn't considered. She frowned, considering the options. No way would Blazing Light's Heart be able to host three factions. This would be an ongoing issue if they didn't make a decision. "We need to establish a living situation able to hold three factions. No, bigger than that. We need something with all the resources and defences to survive and win this war. I think we should all head back together so we can get a head start."

A moment of silence, then Cold Sun shook his head. "My dragons live in the desert, Blaze. Forests and grasslands are far out of our comfort zone. We'll be unable to settle."

Fading Star nodded. "And it'll be the same for us. Forests aren't too difficult to adjust to, but my dragons and Blazing Light's dragons will find it hard to settle in the desert."

"Well we need a solution." Blaze couldn't think of anything off the top of her head, but she didn't want to leave without figuring out how they were going to work through this war. _It's just not going to work if we're all in different territories._

It was quiet for a second, then Gloria stepped forth. "I have an idea. Before I was captured to fight in the arena, I was nomadic. I explored the entire land of Murquah and... I think Thorn Mist would be a perfect home."

Dash let out a soft growl, facing the six-legged female. "We can't just run them out of their home. We'd be putting children at risk and trauma. They'd be losing their homes and possibly their lives!"

It was a good argument, but Gloria still was making a decent point. "This is _war._ We can't be nice to our enemy. They'll find somewhere else that works for them; their allies will be able to give them a habitat they can work with. Their natural defences would be brilliant for us considering Blazing Light, Fading Star and Cold Sun are exposed and they don't have many vantage points. Thorn Mist's home is on a very large rock in the middle of a water-filled canyon. Not only is it a good place to be in a war, but it's gorgeous. It will be a perfect habitat for all three factions, but you will have to grow on it together so nobody has more experience than the other. We need this more than they do."

 _She's right. I don't want to put those dragons through this but I have no other choice._ "I agree with Gloria. We need this. We can take this as peacefully as possible. We'll have a meeting with Thorn Mist himself, tell him to give up the land and leave or fight for it."

That idea seemed to go down well with the others, though Dash was certainly very hesitant. Zehrok cleared his throat. "So what do we do in the meantime? And what do we do if we have to fight?"

Cold Sun was the one who responded, his eyes running across his allies. "I think we shall take up residence split over Fading Star and Blazing Light territory until then, if that's alright with you two?"

Blaze was more than happy to comply and it seemed that her companion was too. "Of course. Take your time in moving over. We will prepare for the arrival of your faction."

The desert dragon smiled, his cold jade eyes softening. "Thank you. We'd best get on our way. Bleeding Rose, would you accompany me on the way home?"

"Of course." Just like that, Cold Sun and Bleeding Rose took off, their new dragons following after them.

 

"Alright. Thank you for coming with your team, Atlantis." Blaze sighed, letting her muscles relax. She couldn't give a smile, but she could at least give her thanks. "We likely would have had casualties without you. Now let's get going, we need to prepare for Cold Sun's dragons and tell everyone the news."


	11. Leaving

When the group returned, Blaze's first course of action was to announce what had happened.

She followed the steps Storm had taken in calling the faction to attention, climbing up onto the rock and letting out the loudest roar she could muster. She couldn't help but glance behind her at the hollow she'd spent a single night in. _Seems like my life is full of moving and change... I'll get used to it._

When seemingly the entirety of both Fading Star and Blazing Light had gathered, she swallowed the lump in her throat and projected her voice out across the clearing. "I just returned from a meeting with Zaro and the other faction leaders. There were no deaths and few injuries." She still felt the ache in her cheek, luckily her only wound. "We did, however, come out with a declaration of war."

Uproar was what she expected and it was absolutely what came. There were no insults directed at her but there were certainly ones charged for the enemy. Blaze frowned, knowing not everyone standing there would be alive by the end of the war. When everyone fell quiet, she lifted her chin, showing no weakness to her dragons. _They're going to need a leader who shows no doubts. I need to be a beacon of hope._ "Our allies are the dragons of Fading Star," a brief cheer arose from their dragons, "and those of Cold Sun. Bleeding Rose is not fighting in any side but seems to be in favour of Cold Sun so I'm hoping at some point they will join us. That means we are at war with Night Whisper, Twisted Shadow and Thorn Mist."

Another ripple of surprise tore through them. Having only just joined these dragons, she had no idea what kind of history they had with any of those factions. She didn't linger on it, however, needing to get every announcement she had out of the way. "I'm afraid I have more grim news. The coming of war means the joining of our allies into one faction. That also means we can't stay here."

 _That_ was when the insults flew at her. She did her best to block it out and really she didn't know what she expected but it had to be done. "We have no choice. Night Whisper is neighbouring our land and quite frankly we're at a huge disadvantage where we are right now. Not only that, but we need a place where all three factions can live comfortably. Due to this, I'm arranging a meeting with Thorn Mist himself and we're going to make him surrender his territory. Either that, or we will drive them out by force."

There was a shocked silence, then a mixed reaction from the crowd. There were cheers but also shouts of resistance, but she could not listen to any of it. _I must be strong. They'll understand why we're doing this._ "I'm sorry. This has to be done. We need the best chance of survival against these dragons. This is the only way. We'll lose less dragons there than we will here. Once this war is over, we can come back to these lands."

It appeared that her words offered at least a small amount of comfort to the factions and they calmed their noise levels at last. Blaze finally allowed herself to sit down, her wings pressed close to her body. "Cold Sun's dragons will be here soon. Please begin preparing to leave. Once they arrive, we will leave for Thorn Mist where we will demand the territory or fight for it. You're all dismissed, and thank you for your patience."

 

Once Blaze jumped down from the rock, it dawned upon her that she'd finally started to play the role of leader. As terrified as she was about this entire thing, she couldn't help but smile. _I'm going to lead these dragons to victory._

 

* * *

 

Over the next few days, their allies began to filter in to the heart and Blaze spent most of her time with Cold Sun and Fading Star planning out their next moves. Storm, Dash and Zehrok often joined them and offered a word or two about what they thought and in the end the plan was solidified and finalised. Once they got to Thorn Mist, they were going to take over the land and start building upon the former home of the exiled dragons. It was going to be a large castle of sorts, a place to be the headquarters of their army. Then they would expand, building towns outside of the main base and finally erecting walls and borders to ward off attackers and hold them back long enough to get the upper hand. She tasked Prakem with coming up with some design ideas, deeming him the most artistically gifted of her friends after a quick examination.

After catching up with how Mhica and Cronos were doing, she found her way to Cold Sun and joined him where he sat, staring out at the dragons rushing here and there, preparing for their move. She felt bad for them. She didn't know what it was like having to leave your life-long home, force another faction out of theirs and then prepare for war but she knew it couldn't be easy.

Cold Sun was watching them too, but his eyes told nothing. They were solemn. Small scars, hardly noticeable, dented his skin and lips, showing the experience of years of leadership. He did, however, look down to Blaze, his eyes not softening like she thought they might. "I think I should let you in on something, Blaze. I've already told Fading Star, but I think it's important that I'm transparent with you too."

She hesitated, confused about what could be so important, but she nodded. "Go ahead. I'm all ears."

"Bleeding Rose and I are in a relationship. A romantic relationship." He sighed, then turned away from her, eyes staring far into the distance. Blaze tapped her claws against the ground. _He's in a relationship with another leader... this could be useful to us; if Cold Sun is in trouble, his lover may be more inclined to send help._

"Cool." She shrugged, not really seeing why he seemed to be so tense about it.

"Rumours of our relationship started the civil war in Bleeding Rose. The concept of two males being together disgusts most dragons... I think that Blazing Light and Fading Star are the only ones who even accept it." He elaborated, leading Blaze to piece together a little more about why this was so significant. "He almost died. I didn't know how to react. If I were to fight, it'd prove our relationship. But how could I sit back and let the one I love most perish because of me? He refused to allow me to fight. When the war was over, we swore to secrecy. I think it's important for you and Fading Star to know about us, but this can't get out to anyone else."

Blaze never really saw much issue between genders in relationships. Love was love, right? At the end of the day, they were both dragons like everyone else. She frowned a little, but quickly wrapped a wing around the other, turning to give him the most sincere look she could. "Hey. If anyone threatens you or anything like that just because you love males, let me know. I don't want you dealing with that alone. I know you can handle yourself, but I'm right here beside you."

"Thank you, Blaze." He said after a moment, then he cleared his throat, changing the subject. "Are your dragons ready to leave?"

"We've had more than enough time. Do you plan on heading off now?" she drew back her wing and stood, turning her head to gaze at the faction members once again.

"Yes. It's better to get this out of the way." Cold Sun nodded, and took to his feet alongside Blaze, standing back only on his hind legs, towering above her. "Let's get a move on."

 

* * *

 

 

After a quick announcement, the faction leaders gathered at the entrance to the heart and prepared to take their leave. She stood alongside them, taking a deep breath and silently bidding the land farewell as she took one last look at the hollowed trees and the expanse of land she'd briefly called home. Blaze refused to linger on it as she waited for Cold Sun and Fading Star to take up the lead, wandering towards the very back of the three factions, hardly noticing Dash's presence at her side until he cleared his throat when the dragons began to walk.

 

"Hey." He sounded awkward. Considering they last left off on a less than comfortable note, she wasn't surprised. For the first time she'd been around Dash she felt her stomach fill with butterflies, but she was sure she wasn't scared.

"Hi." She responded, then after a moment's silence she groaned and turned to look at him. "Listen, I didn't mean anything bad by my question. I didn't mean to offend you or anything like that. It wasn't my intention at all."

Dash shook his head, letting out a soft sigh. "It's not that. I've been considering whether or not to tell you about this necklace and what it is and I decided you should know, in case this war claims my life."

The tone he took on was alarmingly dark and a realisation almost caused her to stumble on her own feet. _Not all of my friends will be alive by the end of this war. It's not just strangers that might die._ Shaking it from her mind, she turned to him. _It seems like all the confessions are coming out today._ "What is it?"

"I'm going to sound crazy, but this necklace was created by Rynn himself. The legend goes that Rynn had four sons. The eldest and second eldest, Nightborn and Assassin, were rivals and fought each other. One day, Nightborn and Assassin killed each other, and when Rynn brought them back to life he banished Nightborn to the void, creating this necklace to bind him there forever." Dash's explanation took a moment to properly sink in, but he was absolutely right. It sounded crazy. _But it's plausible. There is definitely magic in this world, and I think there are definitely gods too._

"...Right. So what does that mean?" she enquired with a small tilt of her head, taking a few moments to examine the necklace. The purple crystals sparkled as if they held millions of stars within them.

"If this necklace is destroyed, a chaotic God will be set loose. We can't let that happen. So if I die, you must take care of it." He looked as though he might cry for a moment but quickly regained himself. It was strange seeing him go through so many emotions in the space of the few minutes they were speaking. Usually he was the one comforting her.

"O-okay, but you won't die, so it'll be fine." She smothered the thought and walked a little closer to him, looking up to him and pressing their sides together. "You promise you won't die?"

Dash chuckled and turned his head to give her a small kiss on the nose, to which she went bright red and turned back to face the path. "Don't worry. I won't be dying any time soon."

Blaze was a little speechless and very flustered so she didn't say anything in return and the two walked in silence for a while, until once again the seemingly talkative dragon piped up.

"Have you ever heard about how beautiful Thorn Mist's territory is?" he enquired, sounding a little dreamy even at the thought of the land.

"No. I've never really seen or heard of other lands." She shrugged. Blaze had never heard much about Thorn Mist. In fact, she had no idea that anyone existed outside of Night Whisper for the majority of her life. Zaro's territory was by no stretch 'beautiful'. Lifeless trees and plants were scattered across the withered grasslands and jagged rocks were littered across the landscape and it was a complete dead zone in comparison to the lively forests of Blazing Light.

He grinned, giving her a small and excited smile. "Oh Blaze, it's gorgeous. I've seen it for myself and it is absolutely stunning and the canyons-"

"Don't spoil it!" she laughed, bumping their shoulders together playfully. "We should go explore together when everything's set up. We should scope out the area, see what the best building plan would be."

"Are you gonna bring Prakem? He's probably sketched out a lot of plans we can use." Dash wrapped his wing around her as they walked. Her legs went weak and for a moment she forgot how to breathe. It was warm under his wing, but the warmth in her chest didn't seem to be coming from that.

"N-no, just us." She felt weak all of a sudden, fumbling for words, her face red hot. "I think it'd be nice to explore with you."

"I'd like that." He smiled, and then they fell into a comfortable silence, walking together as they watched the dragons in front of them.

 

For a while it was like this. Just walking, exchanging small talk as they progressed further. By the time they'd reached the clearing at the edge of the forest it was nearing night time. The sky was painted with pinks and greens as it gradually darkened and the conversations happening around them became more hushed. Despite the darkness all around them, they continued on, progressing further until they were surrounded by tall thick-trunked trees. She couldn't see much and didn't dare use her fire in case she caused the forest to burn, but from what she could make out the land seemed very green. The leaves on the trees were huge and plentiful, hiding most of the land from the starry sky above. The air was humid and warm, urging Dash to bring his wing  - the aquamarine eyes and stripes now glowing on the webbing - back to his side.

Still, they pressed on. Blaze's eyes felt heavy and she wanted desperately to curl up and stop for a break. They'd been walking nonstop for ages now and she had a feeling her feet would be aching by the next day. However, she trusted Fading Star and Cold Sun to have their best interests in mind. They kept venturing forth until finally the glow of a campfire lit up the trees. She hadn't been able to see the vines above them in the darkness, nor the huge plants staring down at them. Blaze watched as a huge green snake weaved its long body over a tree branch, watching the travellers inquisitively as they entered what she assumed to be the home of Bleeding Rose.

 

* * *

 

 

Swiftly upon entering, the crowd began to disperse. Blaze admired the housing of the place; all the houses were on platforms built on the trees, high from the ground. They were large and looked spacious, connecting to other platforms on other trees and creating an elevated complex. The two dragons taking up the rear found their way forwards to where their friends and the other leaders were standing. When she approached, Bleeding Rose's attention turned instantly to her and he smiled warmly. "Welcome to Bleeding Rose. I'm sorry we can't join you in this war. Cold Sun tells me he explained but I can't help but feel bad."

Blaze gave him a gentle touch to the shoulder. "Don't apologise. It must be hard for you. Take your time to recover."

"Thank you." He nodded thankfully to her before turning to regard the group of her friends. "Are you bunch advisors?"

Dash was quick to respond, stepping forth and taking up a spot beside her. "I'm Blaze's advisor but the others are just her closest friends. Prakem is drawing out the plans for the headquarters we're going to build."

"Drawing plans? Prakem, I can help you with those. I know Thorn Mist's territory decently well." The dark red dragon offered, causing the meek blue dragon to step forward. He shyly fetched his scrolls from the bag slung over his shoulder, passing them over to Bleeding Rose who examined them. "Very nice work - could I work on them with you until you all leave again?"

Prakem thought for a moment, then hastily nodded. "Y-yes, that would be great."

"Fantastic. Anyway, you guys had better get some rest in the houses. You'll be welcome anywhere but you'll see signs on the doors. I'd like the leaders to come with me." Bleeding Rose mainly acknowledged Cold Sun upon that statement but it made sense as to why the two couldn't just go alone.

Blaze quickly turned to the electric dragon, reaching out for his hand. "Dash, stay with us."

"I don't want to interrupt official business or anything." He entwined their fingers. Her heart felt warm and fuzzy.

"No. It's okay, you're welcome here. I know we can trust you." She smiled, looking into his warm amber eyes. She almost felt the anxiety radiating from Bleeding Rose, and so she quickly turned to face him, still clutching Dash's hands. "You can trust him, I promise."

Without any resistance, Bleeding Rose sighed and took flight, soaring upwards towards one of the large platforms and landing steadily, where he quickly disappeared from view. After a moment, Cold Sun followed, and then the three remaining dragons.

 

* * *

 

 

The treehouse was not at all lacking in space. It was cozy inside and understandably not a blanket laid in sight. Scattered across the floor were dark red pillows and wilted roses. Paintings hung upon the walls alongside shimmering gold drapes that were swiftly untucked to hang over the windows. Every now and then the moon's light would break through clouds and shine down into the room, casting an amber-gold hue when it hit the silk. 

Bleeding Rose was drawing the final curtain when Cold Sun approached and they grasped each other's hands tightly. An exchange occurred and then they shared a kiss. Blaze felt rude for watching but she couldn't help it. Love wasn't something she'd seen much of. Dash had shown her it first, but now she was witnessing it between others and it was surreal. _In a world full of hatred, there's still a place for love._

Lingering on the thought, she smiled and turned to the others. Dash and Fading Star were arguing lightheartedly about something, voices quiet, and for a second her heart stopped. _It looks so pure so why's it happening like this?_

After a few moments of just staring, she jumped at Cold Sun's voice. "Hey. You should get some rest. You look tired."

She turned quickly to face him. He was curled around Bleeding Rose, who was fast asleep, and had a wing wrapped around him. Her smile returned; it looked comfortable. "Yeah. It's been a long day."

"When do you think we should leave for Thorn Mist?" Cold Sun laid his head down, closing his eyes.

"I'm not sure. As soon as possible, but all that travelling will leave dragons aching for at least two days. If, when we get there we're met with resistance we're going to need everyone in the best shape they can be." Blaze's heart was slowly calming as she found a spot to lay down on the pillows. She tugged her wings close, keeping her eyes away from Dash. She forced back the thoughts that were lingering in her mind and sighed softly. "And you deserve to spend some time with him before we have to leave."

"Yeah. We'll be a day apart." He sighed, running a hand over his lover's face gently. "I hope this war doesn't hurt him. He's been through enough already."

"It's a shame there had to be civil war like that. If he needs our aid, I'll make sure to send the army his way." Blaze smiled, then she looked solemnly towards Dash. "I hope you don't mind if I ask, but how did you know you were in love with Rose?"

Cold Sun paused for a moment, thoughtful, before letting out a small hum. "Well first of all, he made my heart do all kinds of crazy things. He made it warm up and skip beats. He is so easy to get along with and we fit together perfectly. His personality works with mine and in some cases we balance each other out. Where he is weak, I am strong. He's like a guardian angel at times and he's always here for me. I want to protect him at all costs and would give my life for his. I will take on any responsibility that loving him brings, including being here throughout his struggles, no matter what they are. And more than that, I just... I love him. I know it in my heart that I love him. I long for him in every way. He's my everything."

Pure adoration filled his tone as he spoke and it was by far one of the nicest sounds she'd heard. Blaze sighed gently. "I think I'm falling in love."

The sandy dragon must have caught on because he let out a small but sympathetic chuckle. "I'm sure you'll do just fine. You two seem close. Maybe he feels the same way."

"I-I don't know if I'm ready for that." She stuttered, butterflies who were formerly mere caterpillars invading her stomach, beating their wings hard against their confines. "I'll just let him down. I'm not good enough or worthy of his care or anything like that."

"Don't say that. You're worthy. Something I realised is that your lover will care for you regardless of flaws because they love you for _you._ Sure, they might love you for other things too but the root of it all is that they fell for you, not for anyone or anything else. Trust me Blaze, love is a special thing." Solemnly the words fell from his lips and whilst she still found it hard to believe them she trusted in his wisdom. _He might be right but I'm still a horrible monster. I've killed so many dragons, I doubt he will ever care for me truly._

"I suppose." Watching as Dash left his conversation and found his way over, she couldn't help but frown. Before the electric dragon approached, she turned to Cold Sun with a soft gaze. "Thank you"

 

He nodded then laid his head down, and her attention was brought back to her advisor who now stood before her, smiling.

Dash cleared his throat, seemingly nervous despite his otherwise joyful expression. "Could I ah.... lay with you?"

Blaze's eyes widened. _No way is this actually happening._ "Y-yes, of course! I'd love that."

His nerves instantly dissipated and he swiftly laid down beside her, wrapping a wing around her and holding her close. He rest his head on her neck and instantly she felt her chest light up and her heart warm as though a small fire had lit within her. Blaze smiled, cuddling right up against him. _Comfy._

She heard a small chuckle from Cold Sun and then she quickly allowed herself to sleep.

 


End file.
